Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Rescue workers are still searching for seven passengers who had drowned when a boat sank in the Batam waters, Riau islands province, an official said.

"Officers are still searching for these missing passengers," Chief of the Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI), Nusron Wahid, said here on Monday.

Nusron informed that 40 people---38 passengers and two crew members---survived the tragedy.

He added that 22 of the 40 survivors have returned home and 16 were put up at an accommodation where they await identification procedure. Two are others are crew members.

As of Monday, the death toll in the boat accident had reached 54, of whom 22 victims have been identified and 32 others are still to be identified.

Five of the dead bodies have been returned to West Nusa Tenggara, three to East Java, two to Central Java and one to Lampung.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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