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1st LD: Boat carrying wedding procession sinks in central Indonesia, leaves 5 dead, 3 missing

Xinhua, May 6, 2016 Adjust font size:

Five people were killed and three others went missing after a boat carrying wedding procession capsized in East Kalimantan province of central Indonesia on Thursday, local rescuers said on Friday.

As many as 47 seven people have been rescued safely by local rescuers and volunteers, Mujiono, head of operation at the provincial search and rescue office said.

The wooden boat Putra Iraya, which previously reported as KM Vega, was sunk at about 17 : 00 local time after departing from Tanjung Aru of Pasir district, he said.

The boat was heading to Tajung Harapan, still in the province, Mujiono added.

"A temporary conclusion is that the boat was hit by huge waves," he told Xinhua by phone from the province.

"This (Friday) morning, we recovered two more bodies, bringing the total casualty to five. Search for missing persons is under way now," the official revealed.

Taking into a boat is a favorite means of transportation in Indonesia, an archipelago country with 17,500 islands, however, lacking of safety standard has often triggered sea accident that kills dozens of people. Enditem