一艘渡轮本星期早些时候在印度尼西亚苏门答腊岛上颇受游客青睐的湖上沉没后仍然有多达180人失踪。
有关当局派出了潜水员和水下无人探测器在面积为1145平方公里的塔巴湖搜寻沉没的渡轮。渡轮星期一晚上沉没时人员超载，出乘客外还载有数十辆摩托车。塔巴湖是一座数万年前爆发的巨大火山的火山口，风景如画，深受游客喜爱。
沉船事故发生后有18名乘客获救，但是由于风急浪高，救援努力受阻。有关当局认为，很多遇难者可能仍在渡轮内。
渡轮在塔巴湖沉没后，救援人员已找到3具尸体。
印度尼西亚安全规定执行不力，经常发生沉船的悲剧。这个在印度洋上的国家由1万7千个大小岛屿组成。
As many as 180 people are still missing after a ferry sank in at a popular lake on Indonesia’s Sumatra island earlier this week.
Authorities have deployed divers and an underwater drone to search the 1,145-square kilometer Lake Toba for the sunken vessel, which was overloaded with passengers and dozens of motorcycles when it capsized Monday evening. Lake Toba, which fills the crater of a giant volcano that erupted tens of thousands of years ago, is a popular and picturesque destination for tourists.
Eighteen passengers were rescued hours after the accident, but further rescue efforts were hampered by high winds and rough waters. Authorities believe many of the victims are still inside the ferry.
Three bodies have been pulled out of Lake Toba since the sinking.
Ferry sinkings are a common tragedy in Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 17,000 islands in the Indian Ocean, due to weak enforcement of safety regulations.