Rescuers search for 27 missing after Indonesia fishing boat sinks

Jakarta: More than two dozen crew are unaccounted for after their fishing boat sank off the east coast of an Indonesian island on Monday, a local search and rescue agency said.

The vessel, which carried 27 crew, sank early Monday in bad weather after it departed Taliabu island in the eastern province of North Maluku a day before, the agency said in a statement.

The skipper informed the shipowner at around 4:00 am local time that the boat had sunk and all crew had carried out "self-evacuation" to a longboat, it added.

"The team is continuing the search but as of now, there is no information regarding the whereabouts of the victims or of the longboat that reportedly evacuated them," said the statement.

Marine accidents are a regular occurrence in the Southeast Asian archipelago, due in part to lax safety standards and inclement weather.

In January, three Spanish tourists died when their boat sank off eastern Indonesia, and a 10-year-old boy was listed as officially missing after authorities ended the search.