MEDAN, June 19 — A passenger ship carrying an estimated 180 people capsized in Lake Toba, a volcanic caldera in North Sumatra, Indonesian authorities said, with 129 people still missing as of Tuesday and 18 survivors pulled from the water. The vessel, identified as the KM Sinar Bangun, went down in rough weather around 5:30 p.m. local time on Monday while en route from Samosir Island to the town of Tigaras. At least three bodies have been recovered.
Rescue teams from the National Search and Rescue Agency, known as Basarnas, the Indonesian Navy and local fishermen are battling high waves and strong winds on the lake, conditions that have hampered the search. The operation involves divers, sonar equipment and aerial surveillance.
A manifest that did not match the crowd
Officials say the manifest listed only 43 passengers, but the actual number on board is believed to be much higher based on reports from families. The ship was reportedly overcrowded and carrying dozens of motorcycles. Families of the missing have gathered at the shore, awaiting news.
The tragedy has renewed concerns about maritime safety in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands where ferry accidents are common due to lax enforcement of safety regulations. Lake Toba, the world’s largest volcanic lake, is a popular tourist destination, and the government has faced criticism for inadequate oversight of passenger vessels.
In 2018 alone, several deadly boat accidents occurred, including one in January that killed 13 people. The incident echoes the 2015 sinking of a ferry in Lake Toba that killed four people. Indonesia’s transport ministry has pledged to investigate the cause of the capsize, focusing on whether the ship was overloaded and whether safety equipment was available.
The captain and crew are among the missing. For communities around Lake Toba, the water is a daily route to markets, schools and family, and the boats that cross it are the only practical link between the island and the mainland.
What happens next rests with the search teams still working against the weather, and with an investigation that will test whether Indonesia’s safety rules can reach the far corners of its maritime domain.
