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JakartA: At least 15 people died after 18 fishing boats disappeared, presumed to have sunk, during high waves earlier this week in the waters off the western province of Indonesia’s Borneo island, an official said on Sunday.
Yopi Haryadi, head of search and rescue agency in Pontianak, West Kalimantan province, said the search operation was still looking for 43 people who had gone missing, while 80 have been rescued.
“The rescuers also rescued three people, but they were not from the boats we registered earlier that went missing during the high waves,” Haryadi told dpa.
High waves up to 5 metres in height occurred from Tuesday and Wednesday, with strong winds and torrential rain. At least 18 fishing boats, each was carrying three to 17 people with a total of 138 people on board, were reported to have sunk or disappeared during the extreme weather, Haryadi said.
Local authorities and the navy have deployed 18 ships to search for the missing people. (dpa)
Yopi Haryadi, head of search and rescue agency in Pontianak, West Kalimantan province, said the search operation was still looking for 43 people who had gone missing, while 80 have been rescued.
“The rescuers also rescued three people, but they were not from the boats we registered earlier that went missing during the high waves,” Haryadi told dpa.
High waves up to 5 metres in height occurred from Tuesday and Wednesday, with strong winds and torrential rain. At least 18 fishing boats, each was carrying three to 17 people with a total of 138 people on board, were reported to have sunk or disappeared during the extreme weather, Haryadi said.
Local authorities and the navy have deployed 18 ships to search for the missing people. (dpa)