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Indonesian ferry sinks in storm Indonesian ferry sinks in storm
(about 4 hours later)
A search operation is under way after a ferry carrying about 250 passengers and 17 crew sank in a storm in central Indonesia, officials say. A search operation is under way after a ferry carrying about 250 passengers and 17 crew sank in stormy seas in central Indonesia, officials say.
Indonesia's transport minister told Reuters that 150 people had been taken off the ferry, but said he did not know if they were dead or alive. A transport agency spokesman said 18 people have been rescued alive, but fears are rising that scores of others will be found dead.
Jusman Syafi'i Djamal said a tropical cyclone had caused waves of five to six metres (19ft). Rescue efforts were hampered by high waves and nightfall.
There have been several maritime accidents in Indonesia in recent years. Recent years have seen several ferry accidents in Indonesia. More than 400 people died when a ferry sank in 2006.
A transport agency spokesman earlier said 18 people were known to have survived in this latest accident, but did not give details. The captain of the Teratai Prima, who was among those pulled alive from the sea, said that about 150 people managed to jump off before the vessel went down, AP reported.
It was not immediately clear if the authorities expected to find more survivors. A few survivors are said to have been spotted by fishermen as they drifted on lifeboats, but it is not yet known how many are still missing, the BBC's Lucy Williamson reports from Jakarta.
The Teratai Prima was travelling from Pare Pare in South Sulawesi to Samarinda in East Kalimantan when it went down. Deadly crossing
Boats are a major form of transport in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands which has a population of 235 million. The ferry was making an overnight journey from Pare Pare in South Sulawesi to Samarinda in East Kalimantan.
But poor enforcement of safety regulations and overcrowding causes accidents that claim hundreds of lives each year. Advertisement
Local tv footage of survivors
Indonesia's state-run Antara news agency said the vessel went down at 0400 local time (2100 GMT Saturday) in stormy seas.
The area has been buffeted by storms, heavy rains and high winds for several days, causing flash flooding in some areas.
RECENT MARITIME DISASTERS 11 July 2007: Passenger ship with 70 on board sinks off eastern Indonesia 22 Feb 2007: At least 42 die as ferry catches fire30 Dec 2006: More than 400 lost as ferry sinks between Borneo and Java7 July 2005: About 200 die as ferry sinks off eastern Indonesia Indonesia relies heavily on ferry services to connect the main islands in the archipelago, but accidents are common.
In December 2006, a ferry carrying more than 600 people sank while on a journey from Borneo to Java. The majority of its passengers were never found.
Months later, at least 42 people were killed when a fire broke out aboard a ferry from Jakarta to Bangka island off Sumatra.
There have also been several accidents involving Indonesia's domestic airlines, prompting the European Union to ban Indonesian carriers from its airspace.