Boat capsizing leaves 11 dead in western Indonesia

By Baird Maritime - April 28, 2023.

EMERGENCY SERVICES WEEK

A rescuer scans the horizon during the search for victims of a speedboat capsizing that occurred off Indonesia's Riau province on April 27, 2023. At least 11 people who were on the boat are feared to have died. (Photo: Basarnas)

Eleven people are confirmed dead while at least nine others have been reported as missing after a passenger speedboat capsized off western Indonesia’s Riau province on Thursday, April 27.

The speedboat Evelyn Calista 01 was headed for the city of Tanjung Pinang in the Riau Islands after having earlier departed the port of Tembilahan in Sumatra when it overturned in the afternoon (local time) of Thursday.

An initial investigation indicated the boat may have overturned after it struck a floating log.

Personnel from the country’s Basarnas search and rescue (SAR) agency later pulled 62 survivors and the 11 deceased individuals, who were mostly women and children, out of the waters off the western coast of Riau even as the area was beset by rough sea conditions and deteriorating visibility.

SAR officials said nine passengers are not yet accounted for. However, they expect this figure to increase as the boat may have been carrying more people than what was listed on the manifest.

The incident is being investigated to enable local authorities to identify its probable causes.

SAR vessels are continuing to comb the waters west of Riau for any trace of the missing passengers.

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