Two more survivors from a passenger boat that sank off eastern Indonesia have been found on an uninhabited island, a rescue official said Sunday, a day after five others were rescued floating in the sea. The vessel, which was carrying more than 70 people, sank on Wednesday as it sailed near Selayar, a small island south of the larger Sulawesi. Rescuers found a man and a woman on Sunday who had made it to a tiny island by clinging to a makeshift flotation device. The duo said four others who had been with them had not made it. 'Some of them became weak and could no longer hold on to the raft, and eventually drifted away,' local search-and-rescue official Muhammad Arif Anwar told AFP. 'Hopefully we can still find their companions.'
Survivors' Accounts
Five other survivors, including a seven-year-old girl, were rescued on Saturday after floating at sea for three days. 'After the ship sank, each of them saved themselves using whatever equipment or makeshift flotation they could find,' Arif told AFP earlier on Sunday. 'They rigged together jerry cans and pieces of cork tied up with rope, then climbed on top of them.' The group was rescued on Saturday afternoon by local fishermen, who radioed officials for help, he said. The survivors, tired and weak after floating for days without enough food or water, had sustained themselves with packets of instant noodles and biscuits.
Ongoing Search Efforts
Five large ships, a reconnaissance aircraft and a helicopter are being used in ongoing search efforts for 18 people still believed missing, Arif said. About 50 people were rescued on Thursday, officials said. Rescuers said the vessel listed only 50 people on board, but further verification found there were 78 on the ship. It is common in Indonesia for the number of actual passengers on a boat to differ from the manifest. Accidents are a regular occurrence, due in part to lax safety standards and inclement weather.
