At least eight dead as boat capsizes in Indonesia

At least eight people died and several others remain missing after a passenger boat capsized off the coast of Borneo on Monday, an official said, in the latest deadly maritime accident in Indonesia. The ferry was carrying some 45 people when it sank just minutes after leaving Tanjung Selor in North Borneo province, said Gusti Anwar Mulyadi a senior official of the local search and rescue agency. Image copyright EPA Image caption Rescue teams are searching for several missing passengers, officials said

A spokesman for the rescue agency, Gusti Anwar Mulyadi, said the Anugrah Express was travelling from Tanjung Selor to Tarakan on the Indonesian side of Borneo island when the incident occurred at about 08:15 local time (00:15 GMT) on Monday. According to the boat's manifest, the boat was carrying 48 passengers — including five children — and three crew members, Mr Djumala said, adding that infants were usually not listed in the manifest. Police are investigating the cause of the accident, which was not immediately clear. Boat accidents are common in Indonesia because of poorly enforced safety regulations in the world's largest archipelago nation, where ships are a popular and relatively cheap form of transportation.
A boat capsizes in the north of Indonesian Borneo, leaving at least eight people dead.