Ten missing as boat capsizes in waters off W. Indonesian

A boat carrying 20 people sank in waters off Indonesia’s western Riau province, leaving ten people missing, a rescuer said on Thursday. The boat carrying Indonesian workers to Malaysia went down after leaving Rupat Island on Wednesday, Head of the Provincial Search and Rescue Office Ishak Tahir said, adding that ten workers survived the accident after being rescued by local sailors.

The search and rescue for the missing persons is underway, involving soldiers, policemen, personnel from the search and rescue office and rescuers from Malaysia, he said. “The search mission covers the northern waters off Rupat Island and also in the territory located in the eastern of the Island,” he told Xinhua via phone.”We have also asked rescuers in Malaysia to help search the victims in the country’s waters which share border with Rupat waters,” Ishak added.

Poor weather condition was blamed for the sea accident, Ishak said without giving further details.Going by boat is a favorite transport means in the vast-archipelagic country of Indonesia, but lacking of safety standard has often caused accidents at sea.