Indonesian boat missing with dozens on board

JAKARTA, July 11 (Reuters) A boat with about 60 people on board has disappeared near Ambon island in eastern Indonesia, a rescue official said today.

The boat set sail from Buru island yesterday but ran into bad weather just short of Ambon early today, Abraham Lesnussa, head of the rescue team in Ambon, told Reuters.

He said about 15 survivors had been rescued from waters around Tiga island, about 12 kilometres from Ambon, part of the Moluccas chain of islands.

''The boat experienced engine failure and was hit by bad weather. The meteorology and geophysics agency reported that the waves in the waters reached up to 6 metres high,'' Lesnussa said.

Indonesia has about 17,000 islands and ferries and boats are a popular means of transport.

Sea connections are cheaper and more readily available than aircraft, but safety standards are not always strictly enforced and accidents occur fairly often.

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