Migrants boat sinks, 26 persons missing

A boat conveying illegal migrants sank off the coast of Indonesia, with 26 persons declared missing.

Indonesian officials on Monday revealed that the 26 passengers declared missing after a fishing boat conveying undocumented migrant workers sank off the coast of Indonesia were later found alive in a rescue operation after two days of the accident.

Unfortunately, a spokesman for the Belawan navy on Sumatra Island, Rully Ramadhiansyah, disclosed 86 passengers conveyed in two boats in search of job in neighbouring Malaysia, died after the vessel sank on Saturday. The captain and three crew members were said to have survived.

Ramadhiansyah was cited to have narrated: “We found some of the passengers tightly holding to floats, jerry cans and other floating objects to survive in the ocean.

“Some others were rescued by a fishing boat”.

The wooden vessel was said to have sunk off North Sumatra province near the coastal area of Tanjung Api while sailing through an unguarded route to Malaysia.

The boat was said to be hit by strong waves before it capsized having developed leaking holes.