Members of a rescue team are retrieving a body from the Musi river in Palembang, South Sumatra province, after a boat carrying 55 people hit a large wave and sank amid bad weather. At least 13 people died. (Source: AFP) Hanoi (VNA) –At least 13 people died after a passenger boat capsized off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, only two days after a similar accident in the archipelago killed at least nine on New Year’s Day, police said on January 5.
The boat was carrying 55 people along the Musi river when it was hit by a large wave and sank amid bad weather on January 3, South Sumatra water police chief Robinson Siregar said.
He said the police were still searching for the captain. Meanwhile, his assistant has been detained for questioning to find out whether or not the boat was seaworthy or there was negligence by the crew.
It was the latest deadly maritime accident in the Indonesian archipelago, which relies heavily on boats to ferry people around its 17,000 islands.
On New Year's Day, at least nine people died after a passenger boat capsized when traveling from the city of Tarakan to Tanjung Selor on Borneo island.-VNA
VNA
