Sulawesi speedboat survivors found alive as search continues for captain

Palu,UPDATED: Jul 25, 2026 16:40 IST

Indonesian rescue teams on Saturday found alive 11 foreign tourists and one local crew member who had gone missing after their speedboat apparently broke apart and sank in rough weather off a bay on Sulawesi island, officials said. The search was continuing for the boat's 29-year-old captain, who remained unaccounted for.

The vessel had left a dive resort in Central Sulawesi province on Friday morning for Marisa Port in neighbouring Gorontalo province, but did not arrive as scheduled. Survivors later told rescuers that the boat ran into severe weather before the accident, and that they escaped by reaching a liferaft after the vessel split apart.

Heriyanto, head of the Gorontalo Province Search and Rescue Office, said a local tour guide reported the missing boat at 3:40 pm local time on Friday, leading to an immediate search operation. "Concerns arose when their speedboat had not arrived by afternoon," Heriyanto said. "We immediately launched a search mission overnight."

According to Indonesian authorities, those on board included five Dutch nationals, three Germans, a Czech man, a Belgian man, a French woman and two Indonesian crew members. There was no immediate comment from the tourists' embassies.

Heriyanto said dozens of search and rescue personnel were deployed across about 300 square nautical miles of waters along and around Tomini Bay, based on the tour boat's projected route. Two speedboats were used in the search, along with a thermal-imaging drone and diving equipment. Although Indonesia's meteorological agency had forecast generally clear skies, rescuers on Saturday faced strong winds and waves of up to 2.5 metres.

By Saturday afternoon, rescue teams had located all 11 foreign tourists and one crew member alive in waters where the vessel was believed to have disappeared. "We will continue the search and rescue operation for up to seven days to find him," Heriyanto said of the missing captain, adding that the rescued passengers had been evacuated safely and were staying at a resort in Tojo Unauna.

Survivors told rescuers that thick fog and poor visibility separated the captain from the group after the accident. "The captain was believed to have remained aboard as the vessel split into two sections and sank," Heriyanto said.

Indonesia is an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, where boats are a common mode of transport and accidents occur frequently. On July 15, a passenger boat carrying 76 people sank off Selayar Island, killing at least four people and leaving 14 missing. For now, all 11 tourists and one crew member from the speedboat have been found alive, while the search for the captain continues.

With PTI Inputs

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