MAKASSAR — Five people were plucked from the sea early Tuesday, shivering and exhausted, after drifting for three days following the sinking of their wooden boat off the coast of South Sulawesi.
Search and rescue teams spotted the survivors clinging to debris and makeshift rafts approximately 20 nautical miles from the Selayar Islands. They were part of a group of 15 passengers who went missing when their vessel, the *Karya Indah*, succumbed to heavy swells and engine failure last Saturday.
The remaining 10 passengers remain missing.
“They were dehydrated, sunburned, and barely clinging to consciousness when the patrol boat reached them,” said Muhammad Arsyad, head of the local search and rescue agency. “They told us the boat took on water rapidly during a storm. Panic set in, and they were separated almost immediately as the hull broke apart.”
The survivors — three men and two women — were transported to a hospital in Makassar. Doctors describe their condition as stable but fragile, citing severe exposure and shock.
The incident underscores the persistent dangers of maritime travel in the Indonesian archipelago. Small, wooden passenger boats are the primary mode of transport for remote communities, yet they frequently operate without adequate safety equipment. Life jackets are often in short supply, and passenger manifests are rarely updated, leaving rescuers scrambling to identify who was actually on board during emergencies.
The *Karya Indah* was traveling between two small islands when the weather turned. Local weather reports indicate wind speeds reached 30 knots on Saturday, creating waves that proved too much for the vessel’s aging frame.
Search efforts are expected to continue through the week, though officials acknowledged that the window for finding the remaining 10 passengers is closing. The search area has been expanded to cover a 50-mile radius, with local fishermen joining the effort alongside the navy.
For the five families waiting at the port in Makassar, the rescue is a fragile glimmer of hope. For the others, the silence from the search teams is becoming increasingly difficult to bear.
