Search underway for missing fishermen as boat capsizes off Indonesian coast

13-3-2024 (JAKARTA) Indonesian authorities have initiated a search and rescue operation on Wednesday (Mar 13) for at least 22 missing fishermen in central Indonesia following a tragic incident over the weekend where their boat overturned, resulting in two fatalities.

The vessel, carrying a crew of at least 35, capsized on Saturday in the waters off the remote Selayar Islands in South Sulawesi province. Eleven survivors were later found stranded on two separate atolls after spending three days adrift at sea.

The incident occurred amidst adverse weather conditions during Indonesia’s rainy season, as reported by the local search and rescue agency.

“They had been floating in the sea for three days; they were carried away by the current to Selayar waters,” remarked local government official Andi Caco Ramas in a statement to AFP on Wednesday.

Tragically, the bodies of two victims were discovered on separate islands.

The ill-fated fishing boat set sail from a North Jakarta port on Mar 3 bound for Lombok Island in West Nusa Tenggara province.

Efforts to locate the missing crew members involve the Indonesian navy and volunteer rescue teams, with joint operations underway.

“The joint team will conduct a search and rescue operation, and they have departed… this morning,” confirmed local search and rescue official Andi Raswan to AFP, noting that it would take approximately five hours for rescuers to reach the designated area.

The survivors were discovered after local fishermen spotted them and promptly alerted the authorities, as reported by state news agency Antara.

Ramas indicated that the initial count suggested 35 individuals were aboard the vessel, with 22 missing. However, the rescue agency provided a conflicting figure of 37 individuals on board with 24 unaccounted for. Such disparities between the actual passenger count and the manifest are common in Indonesia.

Authorities were informed of the incident early on Tuesday, yet inclement weather conditions hindered rescue efforts.

Maritime accidents are unfortunately frequent in Indonesia, an archipelago comprising around 17,000 islands, largely attributed to lax safety standards.

In a devastating incident in 2018, over 150 individuals perished when a ferry sank in one of the world’s deepest lakes on Sumatra island.