39 rescued, scores missing as waves sink boat

Rescuers have pulled out 39 survivors and three dead from a passenger boat that sank in central Indonesia after being buffeted by high waves, and were battling bad weather on Sunday to reach scores of others still missing.

The fiberglass ferry, KM Marina Baru 02B, was on its way from Kolaka in Sulawesi province crossing the Gulf of Bone to Siwa town with 108 passengers, including 14 children, and 10 crew members, when it was overwhelmed by waves more than 3 meters high during stormy weather on Saturday afternoon, said Roki Asikin, head of the search and rescue agency in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi.

Six rescue boats and ships were sent from Kendari and Makassar after they received a distress call from the crew who reported that the vessel was starting to take on water about 21 kilometers southeast of Siwa port in Wajo district, Asikin said. The passengers included 14 children, he said.