At least 12 dead after ferry sinks in eastern Indonesia

[News_Editor]

At least 12 dead after ferry sinks in eastern Indonesia

2011-08-27 19:58:45 GMT+7 (ICT)

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- At least twelve people have been killed and an unknown number of people remain missing after a ferry boat sank in eastern Indonesia on early Saturday morning, officials said.

The Windu Karsa ferry sank off Lambasina Island in Indonesia's southeast Sulawesi at around 12.30 a.m. local time. The boat had departed Bajoe in South Sulawesi at around 2 p.m. local time on Friday and was en-route to Kolaka in Southeast Sulawesi.

Police said at least 12 bodies had been recovered as of early Saturday evening, while 93 others have been rescued. According to the boat's manifest, at least 96 people were on board the boat which is designed to carry up to 360 people. But authorities believe most passengers were not on the manifest and fear the death toll could rise further.

Search and rescue teams are continuing to operate at the scene to recover missing people, even though officials do still not know for certain how many people were on board. Some reports said hundreds of people may have been on board.

On Wednesday, a passenger speed boat carrying around 40 passengers capsized while traveling in the Cemeti Strait between Kotawaringin Timur and Katingan districts in Central Borneo. Nine people were killed during the incident.

Travel accident are not uncommon during the current season as most Indonesian families have been celebrating the Idul Fitri festivities, which marks the end of the Ramadan fasting month.

In June, at least 27 people were killed when a boat capsized off the island of Kalimantan. The accident took place some two hours after the ship had left the Panjang port in Kotabaru, when strong waves crashed into the KM Martasiah, which was also carrying various goods such as motorcycles and household appliances.

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