At least eight dead, several missing after boat capsizes in Indonesia
The boat was on its way from Tanjung Selor to Tarakan on the Indonesian side of Borneo island when it overturned and sank. It was not immediately clear what caused the accident.
Rescuers search a charred remains of a passenger boat after it caught fire while ferrying around 200 people off the coast of Jakarta to Tidung island, a tourist destination 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the Indonesia's capital, Jakarta on January 1, 2017.
At least eight people died and several others remain missing after a passenger boat capsized off the coast of Borneo on Monday, an official said, in the latest deadly maritime accident in Indonesia.
The ferry was carrying some 45 people when it sank just minutes after leaving Tanjung Selor in North Borneo province, said Gusti Anwar Mulyadi a senior official of the local search and rescue agency.
Some 33 people have so far been rescued and navy personnel have been dispatched to search for the remaining passengers, but he said high waves were impeding operations.
"We don't know yet what has caused the accident and how exactly it happened. But we'll try to figure that out and are now focusing on finding the remaining passengers," Mulyadi said.
Previous accidents
It is the latest boat accident in the vast Indonesian archipelago, which relies heavily on boats to ferry people around its 17,000 islands, but has a patchy safety record.
Last July, eight people drowned in a boat accident on the same route from Tarakan to Tanjung Selor.
On New Year's day last year, at least 23 people died when a tourist boat from Jakarta burst into flames.
It was carrying about 250 local holidaymakers to celebrate the New Year on Tidung island near Jakarta.
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