BATAM, Indonesia (AFP) - The death toll from aboat accident in Indonesia has climbed to 54, an official said on Friday (Nov 4), after dozens of bodies were found floating in the ocean.

Search teams on Friday pulled another 36 corpses from the sea around Batam island, south of Singapore, near where the boat struck a reef and sunk more than two days ago, local police chief Sam Budi Gusdian told reporters.

The overcrowded boat was carrying three crew and 98 passengers, mostly Indonesian migrant workers, from Malaysia to Batam at the time of the accident.

Authorities managed to save 41 passengers and had hoped to find more alive before making the grisly discovery.

"Forty-one people have been found alive, while six remain missing. The rest died," Brigadier General Gusdian told reporters.

Only 12 passengers have been formally identified, he added. Among the dead were two young girls.

Police said the passengers were likely illegal Indonesian migrant workers returning from jobs in Malaysia, and the boat was over capacity at the time of the accident.

One of the crew members managed to survive and was being questioned by police, Brig Gen Gusdian said.

The Indonesian archipelago of more than 17,000 islands is heavily dependent on boat transport, but safety standards are lax and fatal accidents common.

More than 60 people died in December when huge waves capsized a ferry charting a course through Sulawesi province. </s> The death toll from a boat accident off an Indonesian island rose to 36 on the third day of a search for survivors, police said, with hopes fading on Friday for 24 people still missing.

A packed speed boat carrying 98 Indonesian migrant workers, most of them illegal, and three crew sank off Indonesia's Batam island at around dawn on Wednesday, having departed from Malaysia's southern state of Johor.

Airlangga, a police spokesman for Riau Islands, which includes Batam, put the latest death toll at 36.

Police say 41 survivors have been found. A crew member has been detained on suspicion of a shipping violation, and police were looking for the captain, who had fled. The fate of a third crew member was unknown. </s> JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The death toll in the sinking of an overcrowded boat carrying Indonesian migrant workers climbed to 51 on Friday after rescuers found more bodies.

Police and rescue agency officials said by late Friday morning a further 33 bodies had been recovered from the sea off the Indonesian island of Batam.

There were 101 people on the speedboat carrying migrant workers and their families that capsized in stormy weather early Wednesday morning, and 39 of the passengers were rescued. Two of its three crew also survived and were later arrested. Nine people are still missing.

“This search is not easy,” said Abdul Hamid, head of the local search and rescue agency. “Strong winds and currents were hampering our efforts and the sea was murky, making it difficult for rescuers to look below the surface.”

The boat was carrying Indonesian workers home from Malaysia. Police suspect the trip was illegal and the workers were undocumented because of the high fares that passengers said they paid.

The boat was about 7.5 kilometers (4.5 miles) from land when it sank.

Speedboats and ferries are a common form of transport in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago. Sinkings are common due to poorly enforced safety regulations.

One of the worst ferry sinkings in recent years occurred off Sulawesi island in 2009, killing more than 330 people. </s> At least eight dead as boat capsizes in Indonesia

At least eight people died and several others remain missing after a passenger boat capsized off the coast of Borneo on Monday, an official said, in the latest deadly maritime accident in Indonesia.

Some 33 people have so far been rescued and navy personnel have been dispatched to search for the remaining passengers, but he said high waves are impeding operations.

"We don't know yet what has caused the accident and how exactly it happened. But we'll try to figure that out and are now focusing on finding the remaining passengers," Mulyadi told AFP.

It is the latest boat accident in the vast Indonesian archipelago, which relies heavily on boats to ferry people around its 17,000 islands, but has a patchy safety record.

Last July, eight people drowned in a boat accident on the same route from Tarakan to Tanjung Selor.

On New Year's day last year at least 23 people died when a tourist boat from Jakarta burst into flames.

It was carrying about 250 local holidaymakers to celebrate the New Year on Tidung island near Jakarta. </s> At least eight dead as passenger boat capsizes in Indonesia

An Indonesian Navy ship taking part in a search and rescue operation off Borneo. Boat accidents in the country are not uncommon. — Reuters picJAKARTA, Jan 1 — At least eight people died and several others remain missing after a passenger boat capsized off the coast of Borneo today, an official said, in the latest deadly maritime accident in Indonesia.

The ferry was carrying some 45 people when it sank just minutes after leaving Tanjung Selor in North Borneo province, said Gusti Anwar Mulyadi a senior official of the local search and rescue agency.

Some 33 people have so far been rescued and navy personnel have been dispatched to search for the remaining passengers, but he said high waves are impeding operations.

“We don't know yet what has caused the accident and how exactly it happened. But we'll try to figure that out and are now focusing on finding the remaining passengers,” Mulyadi told AFP.

It is the latest boat accident in the vast Indonesian archipelago, which relies heavily on boats to ferry people around its 17,000 islands, but has a patchy safety record.

Last July, eight people drowned in a boat accident on the same route from Tarakan to Tanjung Selor.

On New Year's day last year at least 23 people died when a tourist boat from Jakarta burst into flames.

It was carrying about 250 local holidaymakers to celebrate the New Year on Tidung island near Jakarta. — AFP </s> At least 24 people were killed and 74 others survived after a passenger ferry with 139 people on board went down Tuesday afternoon in central Indonesia, government officials said.

The KM Lestari Maju was about to sink off the southern coast of Sulawesi island amid bad weather when its captain purposefully grounded it in a shallow area to save the lives of those on board, Director General of Sea Transportation Agus Purnomo told reporters.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said at least 24 passengers, who fell into the sea when the ferry started to sink, drowned.

“Evacuation is still ongoing and there are still some passengers on the capsized ferry. Other ships are afraid to approach because of high waves,” Sutopo said.

The incident occurred about 300 metres (1,000 feet) off the Pabadilang coast in South Sulawesi province at 2.30pm.

Maritime accidents occur with some frequency in Indonesia, mostly due to safety problems such as overcapacity and bad maintenance of ships and boats.

Last month, passenger boat Sinar Bangun, carrying as many as 188 people, sank in Lake Toba in the northern part of Sumatra island with only 21 survivors. Only three bodies were found and rest remained unaccounted for.

The wreckage was later found at a depth of 450 metres (1,500 feet), but authorities did not attempt to lift it for lack of salvaging technology, and the search for victims ended earlier this week. </s> JAKARTA: A boat carrying Indonesian workers home from Malaysia capsized in stormy weather Wednesday, and police said at least 20 people died and 39 have been rescued.

About 90 people were on the vessel that capsized off the island of Batam about 5 a.m, Batam police chief Sambudi Gusdian said. The search effort underway for hours has rescued 39 survivors so far.

The passengers are Indonesians who work in Malaysia.

Haryanto, a 51-year-old survivor, said the speedboat capsized amid heavy rains and high waves about two hours after it left Johor Bahru in Malaysia. </s> At least 70 people are dead or missing after a ferry ran aground off the coast of Indonesia, according to an updated official toll Wednesday (July 4), the latest deadly maritime accident in the South-east Asian archipelago.

The KM Lestari was carrying about 140 passengers and dozens of vehicles when the accident happened Tuesday afternoon about 300 metres from shore near Sulawesi island, north of Indonesia's most populous island Java.

Images from the scene showed terrified passengers clinging to the side of the tipped over ferry, while others floated in the sea awaiting help.

Waves swamped the boat's deck, taking trucks and other vehicles into the sea, as rescuers battled high winds and rough seas to pluck victims from the water.

Indonesia's disaster agency said 29 people died in the accident while another 41 are still missing. Nearly 70 people have been rescued, it added.

The deadly incident came on the same day authorities officially called off the search for more than 160 people missing after another ferry sank on a volcanic lake in Sumatra two weeks ago.

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The vessel was believed to be operating illegally with no manifest and not enough life jackets when it disappeared into the depths of Lake Toba, a picturesque tourist spot in Sumatra.

While some bodies have been recovered, many are believed to be trapped inside the sunken vessel at the bottom of one of the world's deepest lakes, which plunges 500 metres in spots.

In the latest accident, a fleet of smaller boats, including local fishing vessels, worked to save passengers as bad weather prevented larger craft from approaching the stricken ferry, the transportation ministry said earlier.

It added that most passengers had been wearing life jackets.

ALSO READ: 128 missing as overloaded ferry sinks in Indonesian lake

The 48-metre vessel was sailing from Sulawesi to nearby Selayar Island when it ran into strong winds and high waves.

Deadly maritime accidents are not uncommon in Indonesia, where many people depend on boats to get around the 17,000 island nation despite lax safety standards.

More than 300 people are estimated to have drowned in 2009 when a ferry sank between Sulawesi and Borneo islands. </s> At least 13 reported to be killed in Thailand boat accident

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai news reports say at least 13 people were killed when a double-decker passenger boat carrying more than 100 people capsized in the Chao Phraya River north of Bangkok.

Some people were still missing after the accident, which occurred when the boat was involved in a collision Sunday afternoon, but it was not immediately clear how many.

TV Channel 7 and other stations reported that more than 30 people were injured in the accident. Channel 7 said 13 people were killed.

No foreigners were reported to be among the victims.

Rescue efforts were continuing Sunday evening, but were being hampered by rain and darkness.
The death toll from a boat accident near Singapore reaches 54. The victims are mostly Indonesian migrant workers.