Indonesia sends warships to help search for 70 missing after passenger boat sank Saturday

MAKASSAR, Indonesia – Indonesia is adding warships to the search for 70 people still missing after a passenger boat sank on Saturday.

The Marina Baru carrying 118 passengers and crewmen sank in the Gulf of Bone while on its way from Kolaka in Southeast Sulawesi province to Siwa town in South Sulawesi province.

Indonesian Search and Rescue Agency chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo said Wednesday that the navy will dispatch warships to the area where nine ships and 15 fishing boats are already searching for the victims.

A helicopter and a CN-235 aircraft are searching from the air while soldiers and police were combing the coastline, Soelistyo said.

Head of the local disaster mitigation agency, Alamsyah, said rescuers have discovered 41 survivors and seven dead.