Indonesia has scaled down its search for more than 230 people still missing two days after a ferry capsized in heavy seas off Sulawesi island, officials say.
High winds and rough seas continued to pound the Makassar Strait between Sulawesi and Borneo islands where the 700-tonne Teratai Prima capsized and sank with some 267 people on board early on Sunday.
Transport ministry maritime official Sunaryo said on Tuesday smaller vessels had been ordered to give up the search and only four navy warships and two patrol boats continued to look for survivors.
"We are facing very bad weather and rough seas. We don't want to take any risks by sending small boats," he told AFP.
He said 34 people had been rescued since the alert was raised late Sunday and only one body had been found, leaving 232 people missing feared dead.
"We found more than 15 people during yesterday's search, including a dead woman whose body was floating in the sea," he said.
Senior officials have said there is little hope any of the missing passengers and crew will be found alive more than 48 hours after the ferry was hit by a powerful monsoonal storm 50km off Sulawesi.
The ferry, operated by private company PT Nur Budi and built in 1999, was sailing from Pare-Pare in South Sulawesi bound for Samarinda in East Kalimantan, Borneo island when it went down.
An investigation is underway amid claims that the vessel was overloaded, inadequately equipped with lifeboats and ignored storm warnings.
Survivors said most of the passengers were asleep when the ferry suddenly listed to the left and capsized in heavy seas.
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