Passenger Boat Sinks with Over 70 Aboard; 1 Dead, 24 Missing

A passenger boat carrying over 70 people has sunk off the coast of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, leaving one person dead and 24 missing.

According to reports from AP and AFP on July 17 (local time), the passenger boat KM Nurul Salsah sank on July 15 in waters 73 kilometers off Selayar Island in South Sulawesi, Indonesia.

The Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency stated that while 49 passengers and crew were rescued, one woman was found dead, and 24 others remain missing.

An official from the National Search and Rescue Agency explained, "The captain requested rescue after the boat's engine failed and could not be repaired on board."

However, by the time rescue teams arrived at the scene, parts of the boat had already submerged.

It was later revealed that although the passenger manifest recorded 50 people on board when the KM Nurul Salsah departed from Jampea Island on the morning of July 15, there were actually 74 passengers and crew members on the vessel.

The National Search and Rescue Agency is currently conducting search operations for the missing with the support of naval vessels and fishing boats.

In Indonesia, a nation comprised of 17,000 islands, ships are a primary mode of transportation alongside aircraft.

However, due to lax safety regulations, the actual number of passengers often differs from the manifest, and maritime accidents caused by factors such as severe weather occur frequently.

In December of last year, a tourist boat sank off the coast of East Nusa Tenggara, resulting in the deaths of three Spanish tourists and the disappearance of a 10-year-old boy. In 2018, a passenger boat carrying over 200 people sank in a volcanic crater lake in North Sumatra, claiming 167 lives.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.