JAKARTA, May 28 (Xinhua) -- A search is continuing for the 25 people still unaccounted for after a ship with about 42 people aboard sank in waters off the South Sulawesi province in central Indonesia, a provincial official said on Saturday.

The vessel capsized at 13:00 local time in the Makassar Strait on Thursday, but the incident was reported to the provincial search and rescue office on Saturday, said Wahid D.J., a senior official at the office.

"After receiving the information today, we immediately deployed our personnel and equipment to the scene for a search and rescue mission," he told Xinhua.

"About 45 rescuers and a ship have already been on the spot near a small island," the official said, adding that a plane or chopper will be dispatched to join the search. So far, 17 people on board the ill-fated vessel have been rescued.

According to him, the ship suffered an engine failure when it was hit by huge waves in the strait after departing from the Paotere Harbor in Makassar, the capital of the province. The ship was heading to a seaport in Pangkajene district. Enditem

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