The Indonesian Ministry of Transportation has confirmed three people, including two children, have been found dead, while 39 survivors have been pulled from the water, some after desperately clinging to fishing buoys for hours in the huge swell until help arrived.
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Four people from a boat, which was missing off Sulawesi Island with more than 100 people aboard, were found alive, an Indonesian rescue official said on Sunday.
Asikin said the boat was hit by waves more than 3 meters (10 feet) high during a storm about 21 kilometers (13 miles) southeast of Siwa port in Wajo district, causing it to spring a leak.
Roki Asikin, head of the local Search and Rescue Agency, said his team of rescuers could not reach the vessel because of the bad weather but at daybreak on Sunday larger ships and air force helicopters and aircraft would join the search. We are waiting for miracles, God’s miracles.
The whereabouts of the remaining 76 people are also still unclear, with search-and-rescue teams hampered by rough conditions and waves up to 5m high as daylight hours dwindle.
One passenger rescued by fishermen, who gave his name as Mussakar, told the TV One channel: “When the ship listed and was about to sink, everyone jumped”.
The ship left Kolaka in south-east Sulawesi province on Saturday morning local time, officials said, and was bound for the port of Siwa across the Gulf of Boni. The passengers included 14 children.
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According to website ManadoKota.com, the Marina Baru named boat had some 108 to 120 people on board before departing from Kolaka in southeast Sulawesi. Boats are often overcrowded and safety regulations are poorly enforced.
