Rescue workers discovered five survivors Saturday evening from a passenger boat that sank earlier this week in the waters of eastern Indonesia, with 20 people still unaccounted for.
The vessel, identified as the KM Nurul Salsa, was transporting 78 passengers and crew members when its engine failed. The boat went down on Wednesday, approximately 43 nautical miles — or about 79 kilometers — from the port in the Selayar Islands, located in South Sulawesi Province.
Among those found alive was a 7-year-old girl. The group of five — one man and four women — were discovered late Saturday still afloat, holding onto a fish trap owned by a local fisherman. Muhammad Arif Anwar, head of the Makassar Search and Rescue Office, confirmed the discovery in an official statement. At least one person has been confirmed dead as a result of the sinking.
A nearby fishing vessel spotted the survivors before nightfall near Matallang Island and brought them aboard before they were transferred to a search and rescue boat. Officials initially reported the vessel had departed from Jampea Island with 74 people on board, though that number was later revised upward.
Anwar said the survivors were brought ashore at the port in Benteng town, where they received medical evaluations and were interviewed by authorities. “They were taken to the port in Benteng town for health checkups and information gathering,” he said.
Passenger boats serve as a primary mode of transportation throughout Indonesia, a nation made up of more than 17,000 islands. The country has long struggled with weak safety enforcement and overcrowding on watercraft, conditions that regularly contribute to deadly accidents.
