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ferry boat overturned and sank in Jeneberang River, Gowa regency, South Sulawesi, killing three passengers.

As many as 21 passengers survived when the ferry, which was made from two small tightened boats, capsized and sank in the river on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. local time. Several passengers were still missing on Monday afternoon.

Gowa'€™s Somba Opu police precinct chief Comr. Wahyudi Rahman said police were still investigating the sinking of the boat, which carried about 30 passengers.

'€œThe boat'€™s driver, owner and passengers will be examined. It'€™s possible that the captain will be named suspect in the accident,'€ Wahyudi said.

Besides transporting 30 passengers, the boat, which is locally called a katinting, had 20 motorcycles on board.

Survivors said the boat, belonging to a resident named Daeng Rurung, leaked and started shaking.

'€œWater came in through the boat'€™s leaky walls. Passengers asked the driver to turn back, but he said the boat was fine. In a few minutes the boat tilted and sank,'€ one of the survivors, Sirajudin Daeng, 31, said.

The three victims were identified as Muhammad Fadli, 3, and his sister Nur Inayah, 5, and Muhammad Rais, 28. They were among the people who wanted to travel from Taeng village, Pallangga district to Pandang-Pandang subdistrict, Somba Opu district, Gowa, which borders Makassar.

Fadli and Inayah were children of couple Muhammad Aspa, 35, and Hartati, 29, who were on the boat with their other two children, Muhammad Faras, 8, and Sofia, 1. The couple could only save their two children in the panic that ensued as passengers tried to save themselves.

Rais, whose body was found on Monday, along with his mother, Salawati, was reportedly on the way home after proposing to his girlfriend in Makassar. He planned to marry his girlfriend in May.

'€œMy mother survived. My mother called Rais'€™ name and asked him to approach, but he could not swim,'€ Rais'€™ brother Riswan said at the bank of the river.

Residents used the boat as an alternative and faster way to pass the river, with a width of 150 meters, instead of taking land transportation, which takes about 30 minutes from their village to Makassar. Usually, there are four boats parked on the riverbanks ready to transport the residents, including students.

Head of the Makassar National Search and Rescue Agency Roki Asikin admitted that the precise number of passengers and motorcycles on the boat was still unclear.

'€œSo far, 21 passengers survived and three died. We received a new report that a passenger was missing. The exact number was not yet known,'€ said Roki.

The boat'€™s driver Irwan, 22, who was still being treated at Syekh Yusuf General Hospital, also claimed to not know the number of passengers.