Rescuers Find Mother and Son Alive on Island After Boat Sinks Off Indonesia

Rescuers found a 46-year-old woman and her 24-year-old son alive on Balaloho Island on Sunday, the Los Angeles Times reported. Fishermen discovered the pair stranded on the small inhabited isle in the Selayar Islands. More than 200 rescuers aboard vessels conducted search operations and were joined over the weekend by Indonesian troops, police, fishermen and residents.

Andi Sultan, head of emergency response in Makassar, said rescue teams faced waves as high as 2 to 3 meters and strong winds. A search-and-rescue team retrieved five survivors on Saturday evening, including a 7-year-old girl clinging to a fish trap. At least one person has been confirmed dead.

The KM Nurul Salsa was carrying 78 passengers and crew members when it experienced engine failure and sank Wednesday about 43 nautical miles from the port in the Selayar Islands, South Sulawesi province. Eighteen people remain missing as of July 19.

Passenger boats are a common form of transportation in Indonesia, an archipelago with more than 17,000 islands, though lax safety standards and overcrowding frequently result in accidents, the Los Angeles Times reported.