A relative of the missing passengers of a ferry sinking waits at the Pare-pare port in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Jan. 12, 2009. A ship passing the Majene waters saved the 23rd survivor of the ferry Teratai Prima, which sank early Sunday morning on its way from Pare-pare in South Sulawesi to Samarinda in East Kalimantan, according to the local media. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) Photo Gallery>>>

    PAREPARE, Indonesia, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Thirty four survivors and two dead bodies of a ferry that went down in Majene waters of Indonesia's West Sulawisi province had been found till 10:00 pm local time on Monday, according to an official announcement here on Tuesday.

    The ill-fated KM Teratai Prima was hit by three-meter high waves triggered by a strong typhoon, and went down in 500-m deep Majene waters, West Sulawesi, early Sunday.

Relatives of the missing passengers of a ferry sinking check a name list at the Pare-pare port in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Jan. 12, 2009.(Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) Photo Gallery>>>

    Information obtained from the Majene Port Administration said, 267 passengers were on board, not the 250 as earlier reported.

    "The location of the accident is about three miles from the Majene coast, "Chief of the Navy Main Base VI, Commodore Ignatius Dadiek Surarto, said in a report to Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Jamal at Sultan Hasanuddin airport here on Monday.

    One dead body had been found in the Majene waters and taken by the warship KRI Untung Surapati to Majene port. Another body was brought back to Parepare harbor.

    The chief of the rescue team, Thomas Luther, said at Cappa Ujung port in Parepare on Monday that until 10 pm local time 36 passengers were alive, seven of them rescued by Cargo CGL-V vessel that happened to pass the location of the accident. The seven were taken to the Makassar port, he said.

    Families and relatives of the passengers continued arriving at the command post in Parepare seeking information about the fate of their loved ones.

Over 180 passengers missing in boat accident in Indonesia

    JAKARTA, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- A total of 182 passengers went missing as their motorboat sank in Parepare waters of Indonesia's South Sulawesi province at 4 a.m. on Sunday when it was sailing from the Parepare port to Balikpapan.

    The boat, named KM Teratai, left the Parpare port at 4 p.m. on Saturday but sank in Parepare waters due to huge waves on Sunday, the Antara news agency quoted a rescue coordinator as saying. Full story