Rescuers in eastern Indonesia are searching for 18 people still missing after the passenger boat KM Nurul Salsa sank on Wednesday. The vessel, which was carrying 78 passengers and crew, suffered engine failure and sank approximately 43 nautical miles (79 kilometers) from the port in the Selayar Islands, South Sulawesi Province.
Recent Recoveries and Survivor Accounts
On Sunday, July 19, 2026, rescue officials announced the discovery of two additional survivors: a 46-year-old woman and her 24-year-old son. The pair were found by fishermen stranded on Balaloho Island, one of the small inhabited islands in Selayar. According to Muhammad Arif Anwar, head of the Makassar Search and Rescue Office, the duo reached the island by clinging to a makeshift flotation device. They reported that four other companions who were with them did not survive, as some became too weak to hold onto the raft and drifted away.
These discoveries followed a rescue on Saturday evening, where five survivors—one man and four women, including a 7-year-old girl—were found clinging to a fish trap belonging to a local fisherman. These survivors had been floating at sea for three days, sustaining themselves with biscuits and packets of instant noodles. Arif told AFP that the survivors had rigged together pieces of cork and jerry cans tied with rope to create makeshift flotation devices.
Search Operations and Environmental Challenges
The search effort is extensive, involving more than 200 rescuers. The operation includes members of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, national police, residents, and fishermen. Current assets deployed in the search include five large ships, a helicopter, and a reconnaissance aircraft.
Andi Sultan, head of emergency response in Makassar, stated that rescue teams are facing extremely harsh weather conditions,
citing strong winds and waves reaching heights of 2 to 3 meters. Muhammad Arif Anwar echoed these concerns, noting that the weather and wave heights at the search site remain the primary challenges for the operation.
Discrepancies in Passenger Manifests
Official reports indicate a discrepancy regarding the number of people on board the KM Nurul Salsa. While the vessel’s manifest listed only 50 people, further verification revealed there were actually 78 passengers and crew. The Makassar Search and Rescue Office had previously reported the boat was carrying 74 people when it departed from Jampea Island before the figure was raised to 78.
Officials noted that it is common in Indonesia for the actual number of passengers to differ from the official manifest. At least one person has been confirmed dead, and approximately 50 people were rescued on Thursday.
Context of Maritime Safety in Indonesia
Passenger boats are a primary mode of transportation in Indonesia, an archipelago consisting of more than 17,000 islands. However, officials and reports indicate that accidents are regular occurrences due to inclement weather, overcrowding, and lax safety standards.
The risks associated with these standards were highlighted in a separate incident in January, where three Spanish tourists died when their boat sank off eastern Indonesia; a 10-year-old boy from that incident was listed as officially missing after searches ended.