Hundreds feared dead in ferry mishap

Relatives of nearly 300 passengers feared drowned in the sinking of an Indonesian ferry sank gathered Sunday for news on the victims' fates, observers said.

Rescuers were seeking survivors who were aboard the ferry K.M. Prima Kosong, which sank off West Sulawesi, Indonesia, early Sunday, the Jakarta Post reported. Local police said 18 survivors made it ashore from vessel, which was bound for Parepare, South Sulawesi, from Samarinda, East Kalimantan.

The newspaper said the ferry departed from Samarinda at 7:35 p.m. Saturday, carrying 300 passengers, cattle and hundreds of tons of rice.

Family members who had gathered in Parepare began wailing and crying when officials confirmed the ship had sunk, witnesses said.

"I warned them not to take that ferry, but they insisted," a woman identified as Darmawati told the Post, saying her mother and her sister were aboard the ferry. "I am so sorry, I was the one who invited them to come here."

Another relative told the newspaper he may have lost six of his family members in the accident.