128 Missing in Indonesian Ferry Disaster

Photo from Twitter/Captain Rajesh Kumar‏

A tourist ferry with over one hundred passengers sank on Monday in Toba Lake, which is in the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

While 18 passengers were rescued the evening of the disaster, some 128 are still missing, including a number of children.

The ferry sank during a powerful storm that happened while the overloaded ferry was a little over a kilometer from the Tigaras port. It had been carrying passengers from the island of Samosir.

One survivor, Widya, said her family died when the boat was hit by strong waves.

“There were at least five couples with two children each. I wish I had died with my family, but I didn’t,” she told Metro TV in tears.

The search for missing people continues. Two ferries and one hundred rescuers are involved in search and rescue operations.

While the storm that caused the accident has quieted, the weather has still been poor enough that it slows rescue work.

Toba lake is known for filling the caldera of a gigantic extinguished volcano. It is the largest in Indonesia and one of the deepest in the world with its depth up to 500 meters.