&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "At least 11 missing after boat capsizes off Indonesia's Sumatra island, search underway")
At least 11 people are missing after a boat capsized off Indonesia's western island of Sumatra, officials said Tuesday (Jul 15). According to a statement by the Mentawai search and rescue agency, the vessel was carrying 18 people when it overturned around 11:00 am local time on Monday (Jul 14) near the Mentawai Islands—a remote chain of islands off Sumatra’s west coast. Seven people have been rescued. Search and rescue teams are continuing efforts to locate the remaining passengers, said the agency's chief.
Rescue operation underway
Rudi, Mentawai search and rescue agency chief, who, like many Indonesians, goes by one name, in a statement said that their focus was on "combing the area around the estimated accident site to find all victims". The cause of the accident has not been confirmed; however, as per AFP, maritime incidents are a frequent occurrence in Indonesia, in part due to lax safety regulations, poor maintenance, and rough weather conditions.
Authorities have yet to release the identities of those missing in Monday’s capsize or confirm whether foreign nationals were among the passengers. Rescue operations are ongoing.
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A pattern of disasters?
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The latest tragedy comes just days after a ferry sank off the coast of Bali on July 3, killing at least 18 people. Before that, in March, another boat capsized in rough seas near Bali, resulting in the death of an Australian tourist and injuring at least one other. Indonesia, an archipelago of over 17,000 islands, relies heavily on sea transport, but its safety record is among the worst globally.
In one of the country's deadliest maritime disasters, more than 150 people drowned in 2018 when an overloaded ferry sank in Lake Toba, one of the world's deepest volcanic lakes, also located on Sumatra island.
