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A ferry with 250 passengers and 17 crew members sank in a storm off the coast of Indonesia, authorities said Sunday.

Waves of two meters hit the boat while sailing from the island of Sulawesi to Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo.


The ship sank at dawn on Sunday, said Taufik, an official port. Like many Indonesians, uses only one name Taufik.

Several crew members were found alive, but the fate of the passengers is not clear, he said.


The boat sank Teratai Prima 50 kilometers (31.07 miles) west of Sulawesi, after its captain reported by radio that he was "in the midst of a storm," said Nurwahida also port official.

Eighteen survivors were rescued by fishing boats, but it ignores what happened initially with the rest, said Taufik.


According to Transport Minister Jusman Syafi'i Djamal, the captain reported that 150 people had jumped from the ship before its sinking, but was unaware of what had happened to them.

"We have prepared a search and rescue operations, but the process is affected by the strong waves," said Djamal.


The Teratai Prima, a ship of 700 tons, sank as it headed west Parepare port on the island of Sulawesi, due to Samarinda, East Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo island.

According to Taufik, fishermen rescued 18 crew members and passengers who were aboard the three lifeboats.


The nearest town to the site of the wreck is Majene, about 1370 kilometers (850 miles) northeast of the capital, Jakarta.

The boats are the main form of transport in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands with a population of 235 million.