Jakarta: Indonesian rescuers found 11 European tourists and one crew member alive after the speedboat carrying them went missing in the waters of Tomini Bay off Gorontalo province in eastern Indonesia, authorities said on Saturday.
The tourists and the crew member were evacuated by a joint search and rescue team to Tojo Una-Una Regency in Central Sulawesi after they were located in the waters of Tomini Bay, Heriyanto, head of the Gorontalo Search and Rescue Office, told local media.
Heriyanto said search operations are continuing for the missing captain.
The speedboat, carrying 11 tourists from European countries, departed from a dive resort in Central Sulawesi on Friday morning and was bound for a port in Gorontalo. It was scheduled to arrive at around 11:00 am local time but failed to reach its destination. prompting a search operation, Xinhua News Agency reported.
“We received a report on Friday and immediately launched a search operation,” Heriyanto, head of the Gorontalo Search and Rescue Office, said on Saturday.
Heriyanto said joint rescue teams resumed sweeps early Saturday, deploying three search units across the vessel’s estimated route and surrounding waters.
Meanwhile, in a different incident, the Indonesian search and rescue authorities on Friday suspended an operation for 14 people still missing after the KM Nurul Salsa passenger boat sank off South Sulawesi province.
The National Search and Rescue Agency said the operation was temporarily closed after a 10-day search yielded no new leads, despite all designated search areas being thoroughly covered.
Of the 76 people confirmed to have been on board, 58 were rescued, four were found dead, and 14 remained unaccounted for, according to the agency.
The agency said evacuation efforts would be launched if new information emerged indicating that any of the missing victims had been located.
The vessel sank after suffering engine failure in waters off South Sulawesi on July 15 while travelling from Jampea Island to Benteng.
