Jakarta: The police reported on Sunday, 7 Indonesians drowned after an overloaded boat capsized as the sightseers trying a selfie in a reservoir on Java island.
Central Java police chief Ahmad Lutfi said that the accident occurred when all 20 passengers suddenly moved to one side of the boat to take a group photo on Saturday in the Boyolali regency.
“The cause of the accident was overcapacity,” Mr Lutfi told reporters. “The 20 people took a selfie on the right side then the boat lost balance and flipped.”
11 people were rescued but seven were found dead, police added. Rescuers were searching for the two people who are still missing.
Officials said they will look into whether there was carelessness by those operating the boat rides at the reservoir.
Mr Lutfi said that the boat was helmed by a 13-year-old.
In Indonesia, boat accidents are common, a Southeast Asian archipelago of around 17,000 islands, due to lax safety standards.
Rescuers were rushed to find 17 fishermen after two boats collided in West Java, in April. Three were found dead and 13 were still missing when the search ended.
In January last year, 10 people went missing after a boat carrying 20 migrant workers to neighbouring Malaysia capsized off the coast of Sumatra island.
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