Indonesian ferry sinks, 13 people aboard still missing

In Indonesia, a local ferry capsized due to bad weather, and search and rescue teams are still looking for 13 missing people that were aboard the boat. The vessel, the KM Cahaya Arafah, was travelling off the coast of Ternate Island in North Maluku, in the southeast of the country near Papua, on its way to Halmahera to the east, when turbulent weather sank the ferry.

There were a total of 77 people on board the ship, both passengers and crew members as it sailed on Monday evening. Search and rescue operations were assisted by longboats that local villagers sailed into the waters to fish out survivors of the marine disaster. Some 64 people were pulled from the sea and taken to Tokaka village nearby the accident after many of the survivors swam their way to the shore on their own.

But 13 were not immediately found and authorities continue to search the area in hopes of finding the missing people.

In a part of the world riddled with tiny islands, boat and ferry travel are an essential way to get around, and marine accidents happen all too frequently. Small boats with poor safety standards are frequently used and often capsize or sink. With around 17,000 islands making up the country, Indonesia sees its fair share of these accidents.

Just two months ago, a ferry was stuck for two days after running aground due to the shallow waters in East Nusa Tenggara, though none of the more than 800 people aboard were injured in that incident. In 2018, however, over 150 people drown in one of the deepest lakes in the world on Sumatra Island when their ferry sank.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post