JAKARTA: At least 17 people from a wedding party, including three children, have died in a boat sinking on the way to the Indonesian island of Bali, an official said Wednesday, with two dozen still missing.
Officials called off the search for the day at sunset, with eight of the 49 people on board rescued, while the remaining 24 were still unaccounted for.
"The search was called off in the evening because the waves were very big and it was getting dark," said national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, adding a two-year-old boy was among the dead.
The wooden motor boat broke down on Tuesday after leaving from the east of the main island of Java late Monday.
"The engine was damaged and the water pump broke, so the boat filled with water and sank," Nugroho said.
Officials earlier told AFP that the captain managed to briefly call authorities soon after the boat broke down.
The passengers on board are all believed to be Indonesian.
The eight survivors were rescued by helicopter, while several boats were deployed by the search team and fishermen were put on alert.
Nugroho did not say whether the bride and groom were on the boat, but Indonesian news agency Antara had reported their family members were believed to be on board.
Indonesia relies heavily on boats to connect its more than 17,000 islands, but has a poor maritime safety record. (AFP)
