Fifteen people are missing after a boat ferrying tourists between islands in eastern Indonesia capsized Saturday, an Indonesian search-and-rescue official said.
Rescuers said 10 foreign tourists had been rescued, by fishermen and a sail boat, after the boat sank en route east from Lombok Island to Komodo Island, both popular destinations for visitors.
Tajudin Sam, who runs the tour company operating the boat, said it likely encountered stormy weather.
A boat ride from Lombok to Komodo can take three days. Komodo is famous for its monitor lizards, which draw many tourists.
The boat went down near Bima, a town on Sumbawa island. Suryaman, a search and rescue official in the town, said the boat sank in the early hours of Saturday but those rescued were not recovered until Saturday evening, according to the French news agency AFP.
Fifteen people are still missing, the official said, including 10 foreign passengers, four Indonesian crewmen and an Indonesian tour guide.
Some information for this report provided by Reuters and AFP.
