14 killed, 12 missing as boat sinks in Indonesia

A boat sank Sunday in bad weather off eastern Indonesia, killing at least 14 people and leaving 12 others missing, an official said.

The long wooden boat carrying 35 passengers went down in the waters off Sula islands after it was hit by towering waves in rough weather, National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

“Of the 35 passengers, nine survived, 14 died and 12 are still missing,” he said, adding that a rescue team comprising of police and military officials were searching for the missing victims. Provincial disaster official Hasan Ahmad said all the passengers were Indonesian.

“They were travelling from one village to another but faced bad weather along the way,” he told AFP.

“There’s no foreigner on the boat. We are still trying to find other survivors,” he added.