Simalungun, Indonesia”•The captain of an overloaded Indonesian ferry that sank into the depths of Sumatra’s Lake Toba has been detained by police for questioning over the disaster, authorities said Thursday.
He was among just 18 people rescued after the vessel capsized and sank Monday afternoon at the picturesque volcanic lake, a popular tourist destination.
Three passengers have been confirmed dead.
But official estimates Thursday morning listed 193 others”•including children”•as missing, raising fears the sinking could be one of Indonesia’s deadliest maritime disasters.
The traditional wooden boat is believed to have been operating illegally with no manifest or passenger tickets, so officials have struggled to pinpoint the exact number of passengers.
They have relied on reports from survivors and the families of missing relatives who may have been on the doomed vessel.
The boat could have been carrying five times the number of passengers it was built to hold, along with dozens of motorcycles, officials have said.
Its captain, identified as Tua Sagala, is also the vessel’s owner, police said.
“The captain of the boat is now with the police,” national police spokesman Yusri Yunus said Thursday.
“But we haven’t questioned him yet because he is still traumatized.”
Top government officials including the national police chief and head of the search-and-rescue agency arrived at the scene Thursday.
Meanwhile, hundreds of grief-stricken people waited by the shore for news about the fate of missing loved ones.
Jadianto Nainggolan, 40, said a dozen relatives were on the boat including his three-year-old nephew.
Nainggolan showed a picture of the group to AFP that he said was taken shortly before they got on the ferry, which has not yet been located.
