Over 20 feared dead in Indonesia ferry tragedy

A total of 26 people are feared to have died after a passenger ferry capsized and sank off Indonesia’s Sulawesi province on Thursday, May 26.

The country’s Basarnas search and rescue (SAR) agency said the ferry had 43 people on board and was transiting the Makassar Strait between Sulawesi and Borneo when it ran out of fuel on the morning (local time) of Thursday.

The vessel later capsized as the area was experiencing bad weather conditions.

A local official told AFP that they did not learn about the incident until Saturday, May 28. No details have been provided on the delay in the reporting.

The same official said that personnel were immediately despatched to the ferry’s last reported position to conduct SAR operations.

The crews of two passing tugs were able to pull 17 survivors out of the water as other rescuers are attempting to locate the missing passengers and crew.