The agency stated in a statement:
- The ferry was carrying 40 passengers.
- death toll 15,
- missing 19,
- 6 survivors
It is not yet clear what caused the sinking, which occurred around midnight, according to Reuters.
Muhammad Arafa of the local branch of the Search and Rescue Agency said:
- All of the victims have been identified.
- The victims were handed over to their families.
- The survivors are now being treated in local hospitals.”
Pictures released by the rescue agency showed the bodies of the victims covered in pieces of cloth on the floor of the local hospital.
The ferry was ferrying people across a bay on Mona Island, about 200 km south of Kendari, the capital of Southeast Sulawesi province.
Ferries are a common mode of transport in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, and accidents are common because lax safety standards often allow ships to be overloaded without adequate life-saving equipment.
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