Search underway for a Valencian family missing after a tourist boat sinks in Indonesia

BarcelonaA family from Valencia, a couple and their two children, have gone missing after the boat they were traveling on capsized this Friday near Padar Island, east of the tourist destination of Bali. Indonesian rescue teams are searching for them. Sources from the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the family is from Valencia.

When it capsized, the boat was carrying eleven people. The search and rescue team from Labuan Bajo confirmed that the missing are a couple and their two children. The emergency response team was able to rescue seven people, including two Spanish tourists, four crew members, and a tour guide.

Port authorities in the area have attributed the capsizing to rough seas, with waves up to three meters high. "The bad weather has complicated our work during the initial stages of the investigation," the director of the port authority, Stephanus Risdiyanto, told the Indonesian news agency Antara. Padar Island will be closed to tourism this Saturday due to extreme weather conditions.