JAKARTA — At least 15 passengers have been killed when a small ferry capsized throughout a brief 20-minute journey close to Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, the nationwide search and rescue company stated on Monday.
The different 33 passengers on board have been rescued after the accident on Sunday evening, the company stated in an announcement, including two of the victims have been in hospital.
Photos shared by the rescue company confirmed our bodies lined in fabric on the ground of the hospital.
The reason behind the sinking, which occurred at about midnight, was nonetheless unclear.
The vessel was ferrying individuals throughout a distance of only one kilometer in Muna island, about 200 km south of Kendari, the capital of Southeast Sulawesi province. The journey, between two small cities on both facet of Mawasangka Bay, was meant to be simply 20 minutes lengthy.
Teams looking for the lacking have been diving on the location the place the vessel sank and patrolling close by waters in rubber boats, the company stated.
Ferries are a typical mode of transport in Indonesia, an archipelago of greater than 17,000 islands, and accidents are frequent as lax security requirements usually enable vessels to be overloaded with out satisfactory life-saving gear. — Reuters
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
