29 dead, dozens missing, 245 rescued after ferry sinks in Indonesia
"As many as 29 people have been found dead and 245 others have been rescued," head of the crisis center Rustam Pakaya told Xinhua over phone.
Both the ministry and the coordinator of rescue team Yasin Kosasih, who is also the police chief at the province, said that there were over 300 people on board Dumai Express 10, comprising crew, those with tickets and without tickets.
"The officers from the health ministry have brought over 150 body bags," he said. The bags could be used for the possible rise of casualty.
Earlier, rescuers decided Sunday evening to temporarily stop searching for the missing people, coordinator of the rescue mission Yasin Kosasih said.
Kosasih, who is also police chief at the province, said that the mission will resume on Monday.
"We stop searching for them now because it is difficult to search in the darkness. Besides, the wave is more than three meters high now and the wind is very strong," he told Xinhua from a rescuing boat along with other boats heading to the nearest town of Tanjung Balai Karimun to bring back the bodies they have found.
The number of fatality may increase if those still missing were in the waters, as they can't hang on until Monday.
"When we arrived at the scene, many people were floating in the waters. They were weak. Several of them were dead," he said.
Kosasih said that all the survivors had been evacuated to the town for medical treatment at a local hospital.
The Dumai Express 10, on rout of Batam to Dumai port in the province, sank at 9:30 a.m. local time (0230 GMT) and 50 minutes before the mishap, another ferry Dumai Express 15 was stranded, but all the 278 people onboard survived, Kazinform refers to Xinhua.