One dead, 24 missing after Indonesian passenger boat capsizes

A passenger boat capsized in Indonesian waters, resulting in at least one fatality and 24 people still missing, according to local search and rescue authorities on Thursday.

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Engine failure caused the boat to capsize while sailing near Selayar, a small island south of Sulawesi.

Muhammad Arif Anwar, head of the local search and rescue agency, reported that engine failure led to the boat's sinking while it was sailing near Selayar, a small island south of Sulawesi. The crew's inability to repair the engine prompted the captain to request an evacuation operation from local authorities.

Arif stated that the boat was already partially submerged when rescue teams arrived on Thursday. While 49 individuals were successfully rescued and one woman was found dead, 24 others remain unaccounted for. The boat was initially recorded as carrying 50 passengers, but a further check revealed the actual number to be 74. It is common in Indonesia for the actual number of passengers on a boat to differ from the recorded manifest.

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The boat was already partially submerged when rescue teams arrived on Thursday.

A vessel from the Indonesian Navy has been deployed to aid the search and rescue operation, which is expected to continue into the night, Arif added. Accidents at sea are a recurring issue in the Southeast Asian archipelago, often attributed to loose safety standards and adverse weather conditions. This incident follows a January accident where three Spanish tourists died after their boat capsized in eastern Indonesian waters, and a 10-year-old boy was declared missing after search efforts were concluded.

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The actual number of individuals on board was 74 people.