Indonesia Ferry Sinks; Hundreds Feared Dead

Hundreds are presumed dead after a passenger ferry sank off the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, the Times of London reports. The 700-ton Borneo-bound ship was carrying about 260 people when it capsized today under a massive wave brought on by the local rainy season. Rescue efforts are under way, hampered by severe wind and heavy rains, authorities say.

Government reports on survivors are conflicting: One spokesman says 18 people have been rescued, and a minister insists 150 survivors are in “good condition.” Many passengers threw themselves into the sea after the ship—which reportedly only had three lifeboats—was hit by a freak 13-foot wall of water. As the world's biggest archipelago, Indonesia relies on such ships to ferry people between its 17,000 islands.
(More Indonesia stories.)