JAKARTA: A speedboat carrying 48 people capsized Tuesday in central Indonesia, killing seven people and leaving 12 others missing, an official said.
The speedboat sank about 10 minutes after it left the town of Tarakan in North Kalimantan province on a one-hour voyage to Tanjung Selor, local Search and Rescue Agency official Octavianto said.
According to the manifest, the boat was carrying three crewmen and 45 passengers, said Octavianto, who uses one name.
He said 29 people — 20 men and nine women — were found alive while seven were found dead.
On Saturday, a wooden boat carrying 18 people hit a log and capsized on the Mamberamo River in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua, Melkianus Kotta of the local search agency said. Ten people were killed and three others were missing, he said.
Boating accidents are common in Indonesia because of poorly enforced safety regulations in the world's largest archipelago nation, where ships are a popular and relatively cheap form of transportation.