Death Toll from Indonesia Ship Accident Rises to 28

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Rescuers on Tuesday plucked 10 more bodies from the waters after a passenger ship capsized off Indonesia's Borneo Island, raising the death toll from the accident to 28, an official said.

"Rescuers recovered 10 more bodies today so the number of people killed so far is 28. Some were trapped in the ship while others were found at sea," local port authority official Hariyono told Agence France Presse.

"Some reported to be missing earlier had also been found. Only one or two are still missing and rescuers are searching for them," he added.

The ship, which carrying four crew members and around 100 passengers, was hit by strong winds and high waves in the sea off South Kalimantan province on Monday, he said.

"It was raining very heavily yesterday so weather might have caused the accident. We're also investigating if (it was) over capacity," Hariyono said.

The Indonesian archipelago of more than 17,000 islands is heavily dependent on maritime services but the industry has a poor safety record and fatal accidents are common.

Up to 335 people were killed when a heavily overloaded ferry sank off Sulawesi Island in January last year.

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