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World / Asia

Spanish family missing after tourist boat sinks in Indonesia

Published: 27 Dec 2025 - 10:00 am | Last Updated: 27 Dec 2025 - 11:11 am
This handout picture taken and released on December 27, 2025 by Labuan Bajo's Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS Labuan Bajo) shows members of search and rescue teams prepare to search for missing foreign tourists in the waters of Padar Island, in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, after a tourist boat suffered engine failure and sank. Photo by Handout / BASARNAS / AFP

This handout picture taken and released on December 27, 2025 by Labuan Bajo's Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS Labuan Bajo) shows members of search and rescue teams prepare to search for missing foreign tourists in the waters of Padar Island, in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, after a tourist boat suffered engine failure and sank. Photo by Handout / BASARNAS / AFP

AFP

Jakarta: A Spanish family of four is missing after a tourist boat sank in Indonesia, state news agency Antara reported Saturday.

The vessel was carrying 11 people when it sank in the Padar Island Strait near the popular destination of Labuan Bajo on Friday night, Antara said.

Seven people including two Spanish tourists, four crew members and a tour guide were rescued.

A search for the remaining four was continuing on Saturday.

The Labuan Bajo port authority attributed the sinking to high waves of up to three metres (10 feet), Antara said.

"This made it difficult for us to carry out the initial search," port authority chief Stephanus Risdiyanto told the agency.

Padar Island was closed to tourists on Saturday due to extreme weather conditions.

Marine accidents occur regularly in Indonesia, a Southeast Asian archipelago of around 17,000 islands, often due to lax safety standards and bad weather.