Indonesia ferry disaster: 31 people rescued, 11 still missing after boat sinks
- KM Ladang Pertiwi ran out of fuel and sank in bad weather while sailing through the Makassar strait in South Sulawesi province on Thursday
- The vessel did not have a permit to transport passengers, and both the ship’s captain and owner have been taken in for questioning.
Thirty-one people have been rescued and 11 are still missing after a ferry ran out of fuel and sank in bad weather off the coast of Indonesia, an official said on Monday.
Local tugboats and fishermen brought many of the survivors ashore after the KM Ladang Pertiwi sank while sailing through the Makassar strait in South Sulawesi province on Thursday.
“Until now 31 people have been rescued alive and we are still looking for 11 more people who are still missing,” head of local search and rescue team Djunaidi, who like some Indonesians goes by only one name, said on Monday.
“They have returned home now and they are generally in good health,” he added.
Rescuers have deployed a helicopter and extended the search area to 20 nautical miles from where the boat sank in the search for the missing, Djunaidi said.