After a ferry carrying 164 people hit rough waters off the Indonesian island of Sulawesi yesterday, rescue operations were launched early today morning.
After a ferry carrying 164 people hit rough waters off the Indonesian island of Sulawesi yesterday, rescue operations were launched early today morning.
So far, reports say at least 31 people have died in the accident, with three people missing and believed to have drowned inside the ferry.
The Sulawesi ferry began sinking yesterday afternoon, after which, in a bid to save lives, the captain steered the boat toward shore, grounding it between 200-300 meters from land.
According to the South Sulawesi search and rescue agency, there were 139 passengers and 25 crew passengers on the ferry. Of them, 130 is believed to have survived.
"We are still searching for three others who we strongly believe are still inside the ship," said Amiruddin, chief of the South Sulawesi search and rescue agency.
Photos released by National Disaster Mitigation Agency showed passengers clinging to the listing vessel as others descended into the heavy seas using ropes hung over its side.
Just weeks ago, on June 18, some 164 people presumably died after a wooden ferry sank in a deep volcanic crater lake on the island of Sumatra.
Ferry tragedies are common in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, with weak enforcement of safety regulations often to blame.
The Lake Toba sinking two weeks ago was the worst in about a decade.
So far, reports say at least 31 people have died in the accident, with three people missing and believed to have drowned inside the ferry.
The Sulawesi ferry began sinking yesterday afternoon, after which, in a bid to save lives, the captain steered the boat toward shore, grounding it between 200-300 meters from land.
According to the South Sulawesi search and rescue agency, there were 139 passengers and 25 crew passengers on the ferry. Of them, 130 is believed to have survived.
"We are still searching for three others who we strongly believe are still inside the ship," said Amiruddin, chief of the South Sulawesi search and rescue agency.
Photos released by National Disaster Mitigation Agency showed passengers clinging to the listing vessel as others descended into the heavy seas using ropes hung over its side.
Just weeks ago, on June 18, some 164 people presumably died after a wooden ferry sank in a deep volcanic crater lake on the island of Sumatra.
Ferry tragedies are common in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, with weak enforcement of safety regulations often to blame.
The Lake Toba sinking two weeks ago was the worst in about a decade.