Captain of sunken ferry rescued in Indonesia, 70 still missing

The captain of an Indonesian ferry that sank in rough seas has been rescued floating in a life jacket two days after the accident but more than 70 others remain missing, officials said on Tuesday.

The national search and rescue agency has so far found 40 survivors including the captain and four bodies off Sulawesi island, out of the 118 on board.

The captain, identified only as Asdar, was found floating in a life jacket late on Monday and told rescuers what happened to his boat the previous Saturday.

“The captain said before the boat sank, five to seven metre-high waves hit the boat and entered the engine room,” operations director Ivan Titus said.

“That would kill the engine,” Titus added Asdar said he told passengers and crew to put on life jackets, abandon ship and make for the life rafts which had been launched.

About 30 minutes later, the boat sank. “At first they were huddling near the life rafts, in five, in ten, and in 15, but that only lasted until midnight,” Titus said.

People began to lose their grip on one another and some drowned because they suffered cramps in the cold water.