Five people, including a seven-year-old, spent three days clinging to a fish trap and floating debris after their boat sank off the Indonesian coast. They were finally spotted and rescued by a passing fishing boat, which, if you think about it, is a pretty good argument for keeping an eye on the horizon.
The KM Nurul Salsa, carrying 78 people, went down last Wednesday after its engine failed south of Sulawesi. The five survivors were found near Matallang Island on Saturday, having managed to stay afloat using jerry cans and cork pieces tied together with rope. Which, again, is an impressive feat of impromptu engineering under truly dire circumstances.
They told rescuers they were initially with a larger group of 25 but were separated by strong winds. Local media reported that 47 people had already been rescued the day after the sinking, though one person was confirmed to have drowned. That still leaves at least 20 people missing from the original manifest.
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Start Your News DetoxCurrently, five large ships, a reconnaissance aircraft, and a helicopter are scouring the waters for the missing. The boat was en route from Jampea Island to Benteng port on Selayar Island, sinking about 43 nautical miles (that's 79km) from its destination. Let that distance sink in for a moment.
Boat travel is a common, often essential, mode of transport across Indonesia's 17,000-plus islands. But accidents are, unfortunately, also common, usually due to relaxed safety regulations and boats being packed well beyond their capacity. Earlier this month, another ferry with 65 people sank off Bali, killing at least six and leaving dozens missing. The ocean, it turns out, is not a fan of overcrowding.
