Four dead, 10 missing in Indonesian boat sinking

Locals have been found dead after their boat was reported to have hit a log

JAKARTA: Four people, including a baby, were killed and ten others left missing after a speedboat sank in a river on the Indonesian part of Borneo island, a rescue official said Monday.

The boat was carrying 53 people up the Kapuas River Sunday when it hit a log and sank, Slamet Riyadi, the head of the local search and rescue office told AFP.

As well as the baby, three women were killed.



"We have been searching the river for the ten missing people since yesterday but so far we have not found anything," Riyadi said.

Among the missing were three children, aged five and six.

Riyadi said a dozen boats had been deployed to search the river near the site of the accident, but murky water, currents and floating logs had hampered rescue efforts.



Indonesia relies heavily on boats to connect its more than 17,000 islands, but has a poor maritime safety record.

Borneo, the world's third-largest island, is shared between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.