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SAR team rescues 11 from capsized boat off Mentawai Islands

Boats and ferries are a regular mode of transport in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, where accidents are caused by bad weather and lax safety standards that often allow vessels to be overloaded.

Reuters
Jakarta
Tue, July 15, 2025 Published on Jul. 15, 2025 Published on 2025-07-15T14:21:42+07:00

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An illustration photo of a seaside resort in Mentawai Islands, West Sumatra. An illustration photo of a seaside resort in Mentawai Islands, West Sumatra.

R

escuers found alive on Tuesday 11 people missing at sea who had survived a boat capsize in bad weather by swimming for at least six hours to the nearest island, officials said.

Two boats and dozens of rescuers hunted for those missing after the boat with 18 aboard overturned off the Mentawai Islands in the province of West Sumatra at about 11 a.m. on Monday, officials said.

"It was raining hard when the incident happened," island official Rinto Wardana told Reuters. "Some of the passengers managed to swim and reach the nearest island."

Seven had been rescued earlier, Wardana added. Ten of those on board were local government officials on a business trip to the town of Tuapejat, the boat's destination when it left Sikakap, another small town in the Mentawai Islands.

The Mentawai Islands consist of four main islands and many smaller ones.

Boats and ferries are a regular mode of transport in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, where accidents are caused by bad weather and lax safety standards that often allow vessels to be overloaded.

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When a ferry sank this month near Bali with 65 aboard, 30 passengers survived, while 18 died and 17 went missing.

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