JAKARTA

Five people were killed and another person was missing on Friday after a speedboat capsized in eastern Indonesian seas during heavy rains, a report said.

Officials said rescuers were still searching for the missing person from the boat, which had 16 passengers and three crew members on board, in the sea off North Maluku province.

Survivor Tarwis told the Antara state news agency that a huge wave hit the speedboat and several passengers ran towards one end of the vessel, upsetting its balance.

“We were rescued by another speedboat that passed us by. The five people who are dead maybe could not swim,” he was quoted as saying.

The 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.