By Rochimawati
WEST NUSA TENGGARA, Indonesia
Ten tourists remain missing after a boat with 25 people on board sank late Saturday while island hopping in Indonesia's east, local media reported Sunday.
The vessel is reported to have hit a reef and capsized at 10:00 p.m. local time Saturday while sailing to Komodo Island from Lombok.
Komodo is part of the Lesser Sunda chain of islands, and part of the Komodo National Park. It is a popular destination for diving and home to the famous monitor lizards, which draw many thousands of tourists each year.
While ten nationals from France, the Netherlands, Britain, Germany and New Zealand were rescued by local fishermen, another ten and the five man crew are still missing, rescue chief Abdul Wahab told local media.
He said that rescue teams were combing the area in search and rescue craft and had also utilized local fishing boats.
Suryaman, a search and rescue official from a local town, confirmed that the incident had taken place when the boat hit a reef and sank.
"Fishermen managed to rescue five of them alive later at night on Saturday, and five other foreigners were rescued by a sailing boat," he added.
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