Jakarta: Some 70 people are dead or missing after a ferry ran aground off the coast of Indonesia, according to an updated official toll on Wednesday, the latest deadly maritime accident in the Southeast Asian archipelago.
The KM Lestari was carrying about 140 passengers and dozens of vehicles when the accident happened on Tuesday about 300 metres from shore near Sulawesi isl-and, north of Indonesia’s populous island Java.
Images from the scene showed terrified passengers clinging to the side of the tipped over ferry, while others floated in the sea awaiting help.
Waves swamped the boat’s deck, taking trucks and other vehicles into the sea, as rescuers battled high winds and rough seas to pluck victims from the water.
Indonesia’s disaster agency said 29 people died in the accident while another 41 are still missing. Nearly 70 people have been rescued, it added.
The deadly incident came on the same day authorities officially called off the search for over 160 people missing after another ferry sank on a volcanic lake in Sumatra two weeks ago.
The vessel was believed to be operating illegally with no manifest and not enough life jackets when it disappeared into the depths of Lake Toba, a picturesque tourist spot in Sumatra.
