Search underway for missing boat in Indonesia, eight on board

Jakarta, June 23 : Search is underway in Indonesia for a boat with eight crew members on board that went missing in the country’s eastern region, an official of a local search and rescue agency told media on Friday.

The agency’s official George Randang said that the search began on Thursday after the owner of the boat, identified as KM Farida, made a report to the local search and agency on the same day.

“The boat which was carrying construction materials and eight crews reportedly departed from the district of Mimika in Central Papua province on Monday morning and was expected to arrive in the district of Asmat in South Papua on Tuesday afternoon,” he said.

Maritime accidents are common in Indonesia, a Southeast Asian archipelago of around 17,000 islands, due to lax safety standards.