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Seven missing after boat sinks in Indonesian waters

By DPA

Jakarta : A small boat sank in rough sea off the easternmost Indonesian province of Papua Tuesday, leaving seven people missing and feared drowned. Five survivors were rescued, local media reports said.

A small boat carrying 12 people sank mid-Tuesday in rough sea off Yapen, a small island off the Papua province. The boat was en route from Waren port on Papua to Serui, the main town on Yapen island, said Yapen district chief Daud S Betawi.

Five of the 12 people on board were rescued by another boat, while seven others were missing and feared drowned, the state-run Antara news agency quoted Betawi as saying.

Rescue workers were searching for the missing people, but high waves have hampered the operation, he said.

Indonesia is an archipelago nation of more than 17,000 islands. Ferries provide popular and cheap transportation for the country’s 230 million people, but safety standards are often ignored and overloading is common.