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World|life|November 3, 2016 / 09:36 AM
Speedboat hits reef, sinks off Indonesian island, 18 killed

AKIPRESS.COM - s4.reutersmedia.net A speedboat carrying 101 people, mostly migrant workers, struck a reef and sank off an Indonesian island on Wednesday, killing 18 people, Reuters reported citing country's disaster agency.

The accident occurred as the boat was heading from the southern Malaysian state of Johor toward Indonesia's Batam island, just south of Singapore, according to a statement by the Indonesian national disaster mitigation agency.

The boat, carrying 98 Indonesian migrant workers and three crew, hit the reef after being caught up in strong winds and big waves and sank at around dawn, it said.

As of Wednesday evening, 18 people were confirmed dead, 39 people had been found alive while rescue teams were searching for the remaining 44, the agency added.

A helicopter will be helping in the hunt, regional police chief Sam Budigusdian told reporters.

Zainul Arifin, one of the survivors who worked at an oil palm plantation in Malaysia, said he was sitting at the back of the boat when seawater started coming aboard.

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