JAKARTA, May 29 (NNN-ANTARA) – A search is continuing for the 25 people still unaccounted for, after a ship with about 42 people onboard sank, in waters off the South Sulawesi province in central Indonesia, a provincial official said yesterday.
The vessel capsized at 13:00 local time, in the Makassar Strait on Thursday, but the incident was reported to the provincial search and rescue office yesterday, said Wahid D.J., a senior official at the office.
“After receiving the information today (yesterday), we immediately deployed our personnel and equipment to the scene for a search and rescue mission,” he said.
“About 45 rescuers and a ship have already been on the spot near a small island,” the official said, adding that, a plane or chopper will be dispatched to join the search. So far, 17 people on board the ill-fated vessel have been rescued.
According to him, the ship suffered an engine failure, when it was hit by huge waves in the strait, after departing from the Paotere Harbour in Makassar, the capital of the province. The ship was heading to a seaport in Pangkajene district.– NNN-ANTARA
