Rescuers Search for Dozens Missing in Indonesia Ferry Sinking

Rescue teams search for victims at Lake Toba in North Sumatra on Tuesday. (AFP)
Rescue teams search for victims at Lake Toba in North Sumatra on Tuesday. (AFP)
TT

Rescuers Search for Dozens Missing in Indonesia Ferry Sinking

Rescue teams search for victims at Lake Toba in North Sumatra on Tuesday. (AFP)
Rescue teams search for victims at Lake Toba in North Sumatra on Tuesday. (AFP)

Dozens of passengers were still missing on Tuesday after their ferry capsized in Indonesia's Lake Toba.

Police said in a statement that 18 people were rescued and one body was recovered, unchanged from figures released by disaster and police officials after the ferry sank on Monday evening.

It released the names of 94 people confirmed as missing but said the figure was expected to rise as information from relatives is compiled.

About 130 people have been reported missing by relatives in the area but it was not clear if they were all on the vessel, authorities said.

Cellphone video released by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency showed the crew of another ferry attempting to rescue people struggling in the waters shortly after the sinking but being hampered by bad weather and rough waters.

Anguished relatives waited by the shore for news as several hundred personnel fanned out across the huge body of water on Sumatra island.

"Whether they were all passengers on the boat or not, we don’t know," transport ministry official Sri Hardianto told AFP. "We haven't found any new passengers today."

Budiawan, the head of the search and rescue agency in the nearby city of Medan, said the overcrowded boat was filled with an estimated 150 people and 55 motorbikes.

Officials are relying on reports from the families of victims and survivors to estimate the number of victims. Budiawan, who uses one name, said the vessel did not have a passenger manifest.

It was believed to be operating illegally. It was not clear if any foreigners were on board or what caused it to capsize.

Survivor Rahman Saputra said trouble started about halfway into the 40-minute trip from an island in the middle of the lake to shore.

"The waves started getting rough and the wind picked up. Then the boat started shaking," he told Kompas TV.

"Many passengers tried to get out but a lot were trapped inside the boat. Not long after that it capsized."

Among the grief-stricken relatives waiting by the shore was Juwita, a survivor who lost hold of her child in the confusion.

"It happened so quickly," she told TVOne. "I wanted to grab my child but I couldn't. There were three people stacked on top of him."

The search was called off Monday evening due to bad weather and low visibility, but it resumed Tuesday morning with about 350 personnel involved.

Hardianto said operations would continue for at least a week given the size of the search area.

The enormous lake fills the crater of a super-volcano that is believed to have erupted tens of thousands of years ago.

It is one of the deepest lakes in the world and covers some 1,145 square kilometers (440 square miles).

Maritime accidents are common in Indonesia, a 17,000-island archipelago nation where many depend on ferries and other boats to get around, despite lax safety standards.

Last week a traditional wooden boat with about 40 people capsized in the island of Sulawesi, killing more than a dozen people.

In 2015 a ferry sank near Sulawesi island and left 78 people dead.



Iran's Supreme Leader Urges Iranians to Show 'Resolve' against Foreign Pressure

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
TT

Iran's Supreme Leader Urges Iranians to Show 'Resolve' against Foreign Pressure

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Monday called on his compatriots to show "resolve" ahead of the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution this week.

Since the revolution, "foreign powers have always sought to restore the previous situation", Ali Khamenei said, referring to the period when Iran was under the rule of shah Reza Pahlavi and dependent on the United States, AFP reported.

"National power is less about missiles and aircraft and more about the will and steadfastness of the people," the leader said, adding: "Show it again and frustrate the enemy."


UK PM's Communications Director Quits

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
TT

UK PM's Communications Director Quits

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's director of communications Tim Allan resigned on Monday, a day after Starmer's top aide Morgan McSweeney quit over his role in backing Peter Mandelson over his known links to Jeffrey Epstein.

The loss of two senior aides ⁠in quick succession comes as Starmer tries to draw a line under the crisis in his government resulting from his appointment of Mandelson as ambassador to the ⁠US.

"I have decided to stand down to allow a new No10 team to be built. I wish the PM and his team every success," Allan said in a statement on Monday.

Allan served as an adviser to Tony Blair from ⁠1992 to 1998 and went on to found and lead one of the country’s foremost public affairs consultancies in 2001. In September 2025, he was appointed executive director of communications at Downing Street.


Road Accident in Nigeria Kills at Least 30 People

FILE PHOTO: A police vehicle of Operation Fushin Kada (Anger of Crocodile) is parked on Yakowa Road, as schools across northern Nigeria reopen nearly two months after closing due to security concerns, following the mass abductions of school children, in Kaduna, Nigeria, January 12, 2026. REUTERS/Nuhu Gwamna/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A police vehicle of Operation Fushin Kada (Anger of Crocodile) is parked on Yakowa Road, as schools across northern Nigeria reopen nearly two months after closing due to security concerns, following the mass abductions of school children, in Kaduna, Nigeria, January 12, 2026. REUTERS/Nuhu Gwamna/File Photo
TT

Road Accident in Nigeria Kills at Least 30 People

FILE PHOTO: A police vehicle of Operation Fushin Kada (Anger of Crocodile) is parked on Yakowa Road, as schools across northern Nigeria reopen nearly two months after closing due to security concerns, following the mass abductions of school children, in Kaduna, Nigeria, January 12, 2026. REUTERS/Nuhu Gwamna/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A police vehicle of Operation Fushin Kada (Anger of Crocodile) is parked on Yakowa Road, as schools across northern Nigeria reopen nearly two months after closing due to security concerns, following the mass abductions of school children, in Kaduna, Nigeria, January 12, 2026. REUTERS/Nuhu Gwamna/File Photo

At least 30 people have been killed and an unspecified number of people injured in a road accident in northwest Nigeria, authorities said.

The accident occurred Sunday in Kwanar Barde in the Gezawa area of Kano state and was caused by “reckless driving” by the driver of a truck-trailer, Gov. Abba Yusuf said in a statement. He did not specify what other vehicles were involved.

Yusuf described the accident as “heartbreaking and a great loss” to the affected families and the state. He did not provide more details of the accident, said The Associated Press.

Africa’s most populous country recorded 5,421 deaths in 9,570 road accidents in 2024, according to data by the country’s Federal Road Safety Corps.

Experts say a combination of factors including a network of bad roads, lax enforcement of traffic laws and indiscipline by some drivers produce the grim statistics.

In December, boxing heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua was in a deadly car crash that injured him and killed Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele, two of his friends, in southwest Nigeria.

Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, Joshua’s driver, was charged with dangerous and reckless driving and his trial is scheduled to begin later this month.

Africa has the highest road fatality rate in the world despite having only about 3% of the world’s vehicles, mainly due to weak enforcement of road laws, poor infrastructure and widespread use of unsafe transport.