29 dead, many missing after ferry capsizes off Sumatra

Jakarta: An overloaded ferry sank in bad weather off Indonesia's Riau islands on Sunday, killing 29 people, while 245 passengers survived the accident, officials said.

Rustam Pakaya, a Health Ministry official, said 17 people were still missing. A total of 291 people were on board, including 13 crew, he said.

Earlier, a Transport Ministry official told a news conference in Jakarta that the ferry, which had the capacity to carry 273 people, had 213 passengers on its manifest.

"The disparity between the manifest and reality is large, it's such a classic case" of breaking the regulations, said Sunaryo, director general of sea transportation, adding that bad weather and six-metre waves were hampering the search and rescue efforts.

The ferry, the Dumai Express 10, was sailing from Batam near Singapore to Dumai island in Riau when it ran into massive waves, Riau police chief Puji Hartanto told Metro TV.

Survivors were spotted floating at sea, Hartanto said. 

High waves

Authorities called off search-and-rescue operations in the rough sea after nightfall, said Yasin Kosasih, a local police chief coordinating the rescue mission.

"Considering the weather condition and the dark, we ... will resume the search tomorrow morning," Kosasih said.

High waves had made the rescue operation difficult, which at its peak had at least nine ships and several fishing boats searching the choppy sea. Local television news showed two survivors, wearing life jackets, floating on the water.

The ferry left on an inter-island voyage last morning and sank in stormy weather 90 minutes into the trip from Batam to Dumai in Riau, a province off Sumatra island in western Indonesia. The area is about 900 kilometres northwest of Jakarta.

The ship sank about 30 minutes after huge waves hit its bow and water started seeping in, according to a report from the ship's captain, said Lt Col Edwin, the local navy chief.

Passing boats picked up dozens of those rescued and took them to nearby islands for medical treatment.

In a separate accident Sunday, the Dumai Express 15 with 278 people on board ran aground on its way from Batam to Moro island in Sumatra. No casualties were reported, however, local police chief Yasin Kosasih said.

Indonesian ferry accidents have killed hundreds of people in recent years. Boats are often overcrowded and safety regulations are poorly enforced. The vast country spans more than 17,000 islands, and boats are a popular and relatively cheap form of transportation.