Jakarta, July 4: At least 31 people have been killed after a ferry ran off the Indonesian coast on Tuesday, making it the latest deadly maritime accident in the Southeast Asian archipelago. Three passengers were reported to be missing and believed drowned inside the vessel after a ferry sank. About 130 people have been rescued, a transport ministry official said.

According to the Jakarta Post, forty-one passengers remain missing while there are 69 known survivors, with 34 of them receiving medical treatment at hospitals.

According to reports, the KM Lestari was carrying about 140 passengers and dozens of vehicles onboard. Reports informed that the deadly accident took place about 300 metres from shore near Sulawesi island, north of Indonesia's most populous island Java.

The 48-metre vessel was sailing from Sulawesi to nearby Selayar island when it ran into strong winds and high waves. In a statement, the director general of sea transportation, Agus H. Purnomo said that the captain ran it onto a reef so it wouldn't sink and to make the evacuation of passengers easier. The incident comes two weeks after an overcrowded ferry sank on Lake Toba in Sumatra, one of the world's deepest volcanic lakes, with the death of more than 200 people.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago made up of more than 17,000 islands, suffers frequent boat accidents, with basic safety rules often flouted and vessels overloaded.

The national search and rescue agency said the boat that ran into trouble near Sulawesi had been carrying 164 passengers and crew. Reports inform that the ferry was also carrying 48 vehicles when it began taking on the water in bad weather. Television images showed dozens of passengers hanging on to the keeling vessel or bobbing in the water wearing life jackets.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 04, 2018 04:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).