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[OMEN]

Around 250 people are feared dead after a ferry capsized in heavy seas off Indonesia's Sulawesi Island.

Hope is fading that any of the missing passengers and crew will be found alive, more than 24 hours after the 700-tonne ferry sank.

A local meteorology agency had warned of bad weather in the area but port authorities had given the ferry the go-ahead to leave and conditions were clear when it left.
22 people were rescued, including the captain and 17 passengers, but there is still no sign of almost 250 other passengers and crew who were on board the Teratai Prima.

Most passengers were asleep when the ship suddenly lurched to one side and turned over as it was bashed by waves of up to five metres.

The ferry, operated by a private company, was about 50km off Majene, western Sulawesi, when authorities lost contact with it around 2am yesterday morning.

It was sailing from Pare-Pare in South Sulawesi to Samarinda in East Kalimantan.

Ferry transport is crucial in Indonesia, a massive archipelago of some 17,000 islands and 234m people.

The Indonesian government has repeatedly vowed to improve safety standards but sinkings are common.

RTE

[JohnCenaFan28]

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