Eight people were killed after a passenger-carrying speedboat sank off Maluku province in eastern Indonesia on Friday, January 3.
The incident occurred at around 10:00 local time on Friday when the boat 2 Nona struck a floating log in the waters off Maluku's Seram Bagian Barat regency. The hull suffered damage from the impact, and the vessel sank shortly afterwards.
The boat had just departed a port in Seram Bagian Barat with 30 passengers including small children and was en route to Maluku's capital city of Ambon when it sank, killing eight of the occupants. Some of the survivors were reportedly found unconscious.
A resident told local news agency Kompas that the incident occurred as the area was experiencing calm sea conditions.
The search and rescue operation involved vessels as well as local police, health workers, emergency response personnel, and Good Samaritans.
Indonesia had often been counted among the worst-performing countries in terms of passenger vessel safety with 52 people being killed in separate incidents in local waters throughout 2022. However, significantly fewer casualties were reported the following year.