Body found in Indonesia after boat capsizes raising death toll to 12

Jakarta, Apr 29 (EFE).- Rescue services found another body on Saturday after a ship carrying 74 people sank off Indonesia’s western coast, raising the death toll to 12.

The Evelyn Calista boat left the port of Tembilahan in eastern Sumatra for Tanjung Pinang in the Riau Islands on Thursday, but capsized 30 minutes after setting sail for reasons that remain unknown, emergency services reported.

Rescue teams were able to rescue 62 survivors with the help of nearby fishing boats.

Maritime accidents are common in Indonesia due to precarious infrastructure, overloading passengers and goods, lax compliance with safety regulations and inclement weather.

Waterways are among the main means of transport in the Indonesian archipelago, made up of more than 17,000 islands and with a population of more than 270 million inhabitants.

In 2018, at least 160 people died when a ferry was shipwrecked on Lake Toba in Sumatra. EFE

sh-grc/ch