Overview
- The speedboat left Tojo (Tanjung) Unauna for Marisa Port on Friday and failed to arrive, prompting a search after a local tour guide reported it missing at 3:40 p.m.
- Rescue teams located 11 European tourists and one Indonesian crew member alive after the vessel apparently broke apart and sank, and they were evacuated to a resort in Tojo Unauna.
- Rescuers are continuing a focused search for the boat’s captain, who remained unaccounted for as operations expanded across roughly 300 square nautical miles of Tomini Bay.
- Teams have used thermal-imaging drones, dive units and multiple boats while facing strong winds and waves up to about 2 to 2.5 metres that have complicated efforts.
- The incident follows other recent passenger-boat accidents in Indonesia and raises scrutiny of safety standards, manifests and enforcement across the country’s island routes.