At least 10 people killed in Indonesian boat accident
25 July 2017 10:54 PM IST
At least 10 people including a toddler died and two German tourists were among those rescued after a speedboat capsized off the coast of Borneo on Tuesday.
Witnesses said passengers jumped into the water without life jackets as the boat – carrying 51 people – capsized outside a busy Indonesian port and they feared others on board may have been trapped inside the boat, rescue officials said.
"The boat had only been sailing for about 10 minutes when it was hit by a wave. It started to tilt and capsized, when it was still very close to the port" said Octavianto, spokesman for the local search and rescue agency.
Navy personnel have been dispatched to search for the remaining passengers, said Octavianto. However, passenger manifests in the region often do not record all of those on board. "For the time being the number of people on board is still an initial estimation. There could be people who are not on the manifest.
We are waiting for people who may be reported missing by family members," a search and rescue official said.
The accident occurred as the boat left Tarakan for to Tanjung Selor in North Borneo on Tuesday morning.
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