Yet another vessel has sunk in the contentious South China Sea region after a wooden vessel carrying civilians capsized, with 10 people dead and five still missing, reported VOA.
Both rescue personnel and the Navy were deployed in an operation to rescue people from where the boat sank off the Island of Bintan, Indonesia; amongst the dead were two children.
Overcrowding of vessels in the region is common, and many people are reported to be injured or killed every year due to sinking vessels.
The waters around Indonesia are some of the most dangerous in the world currently, both from the ongoing escalation of the South China Sea conflict and from the growing threat of piracy.
PTI reported earlier in 2016 that the threat of piracy in the waters around Indonesia could reach the levels of the waters off the Somalian coast.
A tanker was hijacked off the Strait of Malacca on Monday August 15, 2016, and was brought to stand off Batam, Indonesia.
With the high volume of incidents occurring in recent weeks, ships of all types should be more vigilant to the dangers that come with passing through these waters.
