The KM Nurul Salsa left the port at Jampea Island on the morning of July 16, carrying 70 people and a load of mixed cargo: copra, cattle, and motorcycles. By that afternoon, rescuers in South Sulawesi received word that the boat's engine had failed. The boat was going down. It was some 43 nautical miles from its planned destination in the Selayar Islands, still a long way from port.
Search teams pulled 46 survivors from the water by Thursday. One person was confirmed dead. Twenty-three remained missing. Poor weather was slowing the operation, said Muhammad Arif Anwar, head of the Makassar Search and Rescue Office. The Indonesian Navy deployed the KRI Marlin to join the effort.
Passenger boat with 70 aboard sinks off Sulawesi; 23 missing
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