Six people, including four Australian tourists, who were reported missing off the west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island after their boat hit bad weather have been found alive, an official has confirmed.
Two boats carrying a total of 17 people left Nias island for the private island of Pinang on Sunday, but one of the boats, which carried four Australians and three Indonesians, failed to arrive, prompting authorities to launch a search-and-rescue operation on Monday.
Rescuers found the four Australians and two Indonesians alive, and are still searching for the Indonesian who remains missing, local rescue agency head Octavianto said on Tuesday.
"At the moment, all victims have been evacuated to the Pinang resort to receive further medical attention," added Octavianto, who uses only one name like many Indonesians.
"For the last victim, the search is ongoing by rescuers around waters near Tuangku island and Palawak island."
Peter Foote, the father of one of the Australians Elliot Foote, said that he received a text message from his son saying he is okay.
“It says: ‘Hey Dad, Elliot here. I’m alive. Safe now. Love you. Chat later,’” Peter Foote said at a news conference on Tuesday. “It’s great, it’s good news. I’ll have to talk to him and want to see photos and see what he looks like. It’s all good."
Peter Foote was told his son had paddled his surfboard to an island to raise the alarm, and that the other three Australians were found clinging to their boards at sea.
Peter Foote said he expected his son and friends would continue the final eight days of their surfing vacation.
Indonesia is an archipelago with more than 17,000 islands, and ferries and boats are a common form of transportation. With lax safety standards and problems with overcrowding, accidents occur frequently.
In July, an overloaded passenger boat capsized off Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, killing 15 people.
In 2018, an overcrowded ferry with about 200 people on board sank in a lake in North Sumatra province, killing 167 people. In one of the country’s worst recorded disasters, an overcrowded passenger ship sank in February 1999 with 332 people aboard. Only 20 people survived.
