Selyar island: At least 29 dead and 41 missing after ferry sinks off Indonesian coast

Fatal sinking: At least 29 people have died off the coast of Selyar island
EPA
Fiona Simpson4 July 2018

At least 29 people have died after a ferry sank off the coast of Indonesia’s Southern Sulawesi region, officials said.

A rescue mission was called off on Wednesday after a frantic 24-hour search for survivors off the coast of Selyar island.

Forty one people remain missing after the boat sank on Tuesday, officials added.

Tuesday's sinking came a few weeks after an overcrowded ferry sank on Lake Toba , one of the world's deepest volcanic lakes, claiming more than 200 lives.

The regional disaster mitigation agency said 29 people were confirmed dead in Tuesday's accident and 41 remained missing. Another 69 passengers had been rescued.

The ferry was carrying an unknown number of people when it began to fill with water and sink.

The vessel was close to shore and the captain ran it onto a reef in a bid to help the rescue effort, a transport ministry official told Reuters.

Television images on Tuesday showed dozens of passengers hanging on to the keeling vessel or bobbing in the water wearing life jackets.

After last month's sinking, one of the deadliest in nearly a decade, a two-week search and rescue effort located the vessel at a depth of 450 m (1,500 ft) with victims trapped inside, but technical and logistical challenges forced the recovery to be called off.

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