Jakarta (EFE)
The ship, loaded with about 40 people, sank around midnight for reasons that are still unknown and while it was making a route between two towns in the province of Southeast Celebes.
The emergency teams managed to rescue six people alive, while they have deployed an operation in the area in search of other possible survivors, Muhamad Arafah, regional director of the national rescue operations agency (Basarnas), told the media.
Maritime accidents are common in Indonesia due to poor infrastructure, overloading of passengers and cargo, lax compliance with safety regulations, and inclement weather.
The ship is one of the main means of transportation in the Indonesian archipelago, made up of more than 17,000 islands and with a population of more than 270 million.
In 2018, at least 160 people died in a ferry capsize on Lake Toba on the island of Sumatra, with most of the bodies unable to be recovered.