Four Australians missing in waters off Indonesia’s Aceh province have been found alive after a desperate search for their lost vessel.
Elliot Foote, Steph Weisse, Will Teagle and Jordan Short were reportedly found floating in the water on Tuesday after their boat failed to return from a trip to Pinang Island two days earlier.
Multiple media outlets reported the Australians were located clinging to surfboards in the water during the search.
The group had left in a wooden speedboat around Sarang Alu and Banyak islands in Aceh’s Singkil district on Sunday before they failed to return.
They were part of a group of 12 Australian nationals and five Indonesians who were travelling to Pinang Island in two vessels.
The area is known as a tourist destination with white sand beaches and good waves for surfing.
The boats left North Nias port on Nias island, around 150km from Indonesia’s Sumatra island on Sunday afternoon, before being hit by bad weather and heavy rain.
Ten people in one boat sought shelter on Sarang Alu island, while the others continued the trip, Nias Search and Rescue Agency said in a statement on Monday.
The resort on Pinang Island later reported to the agency that the boat with 10 passengers had safely arrived, but the other boat had not been seen.
The families of the missing Australians on Monday issued a statement saying they were still holding out hope their loved-ones would be found.
Indonesia is an archipelago with more than 17,000 islands, and ferries and boats are a common form of transportation.
With lax safety standards and problems with overcrowding, accidents occur frequently.
