Palu, Indonesia — Indonesian search teams rescued 21 people from a boat on Tuesday morning, a day after their boat sank In rough seas.
Muhammad Rizal, head of the search and rescue office in Palu city, said everyone on board was found safe. Authorities had previously reported that 27 people were missing, but survivors said six of the listed people had canceled plans to join the trip.
Rescue workers found survivors, mostly fishing crew, on a boat about 46 kilometers (29 mi) from where the boat sank in the northern waters of Taliabu Island.
Rizal said the boat, Nazila 05, left for Kema in North Sulawesi province from a port on Taliabu island in North Maluku province after sunset on Sunday evening.
He said the Nazila 05 was often used to carry tourists and was also known locally as a fishing or small passenger vessel.
The owner of Nazila 05 told authorities that the boat’s captain reported that the ship sank due to high waves breaking the bow during bad weather, and all the crew managed to board a longboat before the ship went down, Rizal said.
Relatives said the victims had tied themselves to a boat, and the National Search and Rescue Agency, or Basarnas, said a rescue ship was headed to the approximate location shortly after Tuesday morning where the boat was believed to be drifting in the murky waters.
“All survivors found by rescuers will be taken to the nearby town of Gorontalo,” Rizal said in a video statement.
Basarnas said two rescue vessels were involved in the search operation and local fishermen assisted.
Indonesia is an archipelago consisting of more than 17,000 islands, and boats are a common means of transportation. Lax safety standards and overcrowding problems frequently lead to accidents.
