Indonesian authorities confirmed Thursday that one person has died and 23 others remain unaccounted for after a passenger boat sank in the waters off an island destination in Indonesia.
The vessel, identified as KM Nurul Salsa, had departed from a port at Jampea Island on Wednesday morning with 70 passengers and crew members aboard. In addition to people, the boat was transporting copra, cattle, and motorcycles.
Officials received word Wednesday afternoon that the ship’s engine had given out and the vessel was going under, approximately 43 nautical miles — or about 79 kilometers — from its intended destination port in the Selayar Islands, located in South Sulawesi Province.
By Thursday, search teams had reached 46 survivors, but efforts to locate the remaining 23 missing individuals were being complicated by dangerous sea conditions. Muhammad Arif Anwar, who leads the Makassar Search and Rescue Office, described the obstacles crews are facing.
“The challenge is the weather, with waves 2 to 2.5 meters high at the search site. The winds are also strong. That’s the main challenge,” Anwar said.
The search operation involves members of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, the National Police, local fishermen, and area residents working together to find the missing.
Passenger boats serve as a vital mode of travel throughout Indonesia, a nation made up of more than 17,000 islands. However, loose safety regulations and overcrowding on these vessels have long been linked to repeated maritime accidents across the country.
