Nine missing after Indonesia boat accident
23 June MEDAN, Indonesia (AFP) : Nine fishermen are missing in Indonesia after their boat capsized off Sumatra island, an official said Tuesday, as poor conditions hamper the search for them.
Their vessel sank Monday after it was hit by bad weather and high waves off the island’s northwestern coast. “The search has not been fruitful,” local search and rescue agency official Benteng Telambuana told AFP.
“We haven’t found any trace of the fishermen’s whereabouts so far.” The accident happened several days after a boat carrying 16 fishermen capsized near the Anak Krakatau volcano in Sunda Strait, which separates Sumatra and Java islands.
Nine of the fishermen have since been found alive while seven more are still missing.Maritime accidents are common in Indonesia, a Southeast Asian archipelago of around 17,000 islands, due to lax safety standards.
In January, 10 people went missing after a boat carrying 20 migrant workers to neighbouring Malaysia capsized off the coast of Sumatra island.
