Dozens missing after ferry sinking at Indonesia’s Lake Toba

Local police chief Marudut Liberty Panjaitan said 18 people have been rescued and one death confirmed. He said 49 people were confirmed missing, based on reports from relatives.

Relatives cry while waiting for news on missing family members who were on a ferry that sank yesterday in Lake Toba, at Tigaras Port, Simalungun, North Sumatra, Indonesia on Tuesday.

Dozens of people are missing after a ferry sank on Indonesia’s Lake Toba, casting a tragic pall over holidays marking the end of the Muslim holy month.

Cellphone video released on Tuesday by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency shows the crew of another ferry attempting to rescue people struggling in the waters shortly after the sinking on Monday evening but being hampered by bad weather and rough waters.

Local police chief Marudut Liberty Panjaitan said 18 people have been rescued and one death confirmed. He said 49 people were confirmed missing, based on reports from relatives.

Disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Twitter that initial estimates were that 80 people were on board but there was no passenger manifest and the number may range from 70 to 130.