One dead and 24 missing after boat sinks near Indonesian island

A passenger boat sank off an Indonesian island, killing at least one person and leaving 24 others missing, the local search and rescue agency said Thursday.

Muhammad Arif Anwar, the head of the local search and rescue agency, said an engine failure caused the boat to sink while it was sailing near Selayar, a small island south of Sulawesi. He said the crew could not repair the engine, and the skipper called local authorities to request an evacuation.

Arif said the boat was already partly underwater when rescuers reached it on Thursday. He said 49 people were rescued, one woman was found dead, and 24 people were still being searched for.

The vessel's manifest listed 50 people on board, but further checks showed there were 74 people on the boat, Arif said. The source report said it is common in Indonesia for the actual number of boat passengers to differ from the manifest.

Arif said an Indonesian Navy vessel had been sent to help with the search, which was expected to continue into the night.

Marine accidents are a regular occurrence in Indonesia, due partly to lax safety standards and bad weather. In January, three Spanish tourists died when their boat sank off eastern Indonesia, and a 10-year-old boy was officially listed as missing after authorities ended the search.