SIWA, Indonesia - Nearly 80 people are still missing nearly
24 hours after a ferry ran into trouble in rough seas off the coast of
Indonesia’s Sulawesi, with authorities not ruling out the possibility of a
sinking.
The transport ministry has confirmed three people, including
two children, have been found dead, while 39 others have been pulled from the
water alive, some after desperately clinging to fishing buoys for hours in the
huge swell until help arrived.
Search and rescue teams have still not found the stricken
vessel, police told AFP, which was ferrying 118 people around Sulawesi island
when it sent out a distress signal late Saturday (Dec 19) afternoon.
The whereabouts of the remaining 76 people is also still
unclear, with search and rescue teams being hampered by rough conditions and
waves up to 5m high as daylight hours dwindle.
When asked whether the boat had sank, South Sulawesi police
spokesman Frans Barung told AFP: “Maybe yes, maybe no”.
“The boat has not been found, because the weather has not
been good,” he added, saying the boat was constructed from fibre glass and was
therefore difficult to sink.
Authorities lost contact with the ferry late Saturday
afternoon, and it failed to arrive at its destination in Siwa across the Bay of
Bone as scheduled.
Officials dismissed initial reports the boat had sunk,
instead claiming it was adrift, having lost engine power.
Police, national search and rescue teams and the navy have
been scouring the seas for survivors ever since but have been battling harsh
elements.
Source: Straits Times
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