At least 128 passengers were missing after a ferry sank in Indonesia’s Lake Toba on Monday evening, a search and rescue official said on Tuesday.
“Many people have reported their relatives missing,” Budiawan, head of the search and rescue agency based in the nearby city of Medan, briefed the media after a coordination meeting.
Authorities had previously said at least 80 people were thought to be on board the ferry that sank in rough weather.
An overloaded ferry was sunk in Lake Toba, a tourist destination in an ancient supervolcano crater on Sumatra island.
The wooden ferry had a capacity of 60 passengers but was overloaded and also carrying dozens of motorcycles, said Sri Hardianto, an official at Indonesia’s transport ministry.
Ferry accidents are common in Indonesia, a vast archipelago, especially during the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which fell last week, when millions of people travel by land, sea and air to their hometowns after the fasting month of Ramadan, reports Reuters.
