JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Rescuers and fishermen found eight survivors and 17 bodies Wednesday after two days of searching for a motorboat lost since its captain reported an engine failure off Indonesia’s main island of Java.
The captain was able to report Monday evening that the engine failed due to broken propeller before authorities lost contact with the vessel, local Search and Rescue Agency head Muhamad Hernanto said. It wasn’t known if the boat sank or if it was stranded on another island until the survivors and bodies were found Wednesday.
The 18-meter-long boat was heading from Raas island in East Java province to the neighboring resort island of Bali.
Local reports said it was carrying 49 people who were to have attended a wedding ceremony.
Two helicopters and four ships were participating in the search as well as fishermen in the area, Hernanto said.
Boat accidents are common in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago nation of more than 17,000 islands, in part because of poor safety standards.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
