MAKASSAR, Indonesia—Ten more survivors of an Indonesian boat that sank three days earlier were rescued Monday by local fishermen, leaving 11 people still missing, an official said.
The captain and other crew of the cargo vessel, which was carrying 42 people, were among those rescued Monday, said Djunaidi, head of the provincial search and rescue agency.
“They are safe and in good condition,” said Djunaidi, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.
The KM Ladang Pertiwi 02 sank in bad weather in the Makassar Strait on Friday afternoon. It had left Makassar on Thursday and was headed to Kalmas Island in South Sulawesi Province. The cause of the sinking was still being investigated.
The vessel was initially described as a passenger ferry, but Djunaidi later clarified that it was a cargo boat carrying construction materials. Thirty-six passengers had asked for a ride on the boat with its six crew members.
Ferry tragedies are common in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, where ferries are often used for transport, and safety regulations are often disregarded.
In 2018, an overcrowded ferry with about 200 people on board sank in a deep volcanic crater lake in North Sumatra province, killing 167 people.
In one of the country’s worst recorded disasters, an overcrowded passenger ship sank in February 1999 with 332 people aboard. There were only 20 survivors.
