Boat with over 100 passengers sinks in Indonesia

Jakarta: A boat carrying more than 100 passengers is believed to have had an accident on Saturday off the coast of Indonesia’s Sulawesi after encountering rough seas and dispatching a distress signal, according to an official.

Transport ministry spokesman JA Barata said there were 118 people on board the passenger ferry, including 19 children and 10 crew, when it left Kolaka in southeast Sulawesi this morning.

Later in the afternoon, the vessel sent out a distress signal, claiming the ship “had an accident as a result of large waves 4 to 5 metres high”, Barata said in a statement.

PTI