Crossing Ship In Central Buton Sinks, 15 People Die

Rescue team members are trying to find victims of an inter-village ferry accident in the waters of Central Buton Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, Monday (24/7/2023). (ANTARA/HO Basarnas Kendari)

KENDARI - The Kendari Search and Rescue Office said 15 people were killed and 33 people survived an inter-village ferry accident in the waters of Central Mawasangka Bay, Central Buton Regency, Southeast Sulawesi.

"The development of the identification of victims from the Central Buton Police, the number of survivors was 33 people, the death toll was 15 people," said Head of the Kendari Search and Rescue Office Muhammad Arafah in Kendari as reported by ANTARA, Monday, July 24.

Arafah said that only six of the victims of the ship crash were recorded. Meanwhile, 27 other people were not recorded because they immediately returned to their respective homes.

A total of 48 people were reported to be on the ship that sank in the waters of Central Mawasangka Bay in the early hours of Monday and all of them have been found.

The ferry with the route from Lagili Village in East Mawasangka District to Lanto Village in Mawasangka Timur District was reported to have sunk on Monday, July 24, early in the morning.

After receiving a report from the Central Mawasangka Sector Police regarding the accident, the Search and Rescue Office dispatched a rescue team to the accident site in Central Mawasangka Bay.

Rescue teams carried out dives and sweeps around the scene of the accident to search for victims of the ship crash.