REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, CIKOPO -- The Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi would send a team to investigate a boat that capsized in the waters in Lake Toba, North Sumatra, on Monday. The team will investigate cause of accident.

"I will send an investigation team to enquire if it capsized due to the boat condition or human error," he told newsmen.

Budi said he has asked boat operators several times to avoid carrying passengers above capacity. KM Sinar Bangun, carrying around 80 passengers, capsized in the waters of Lake Toba, North Sumatra, at around 5.30 p.m. on Monday.

According to Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, Head of Information Data and Public Relation Center National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB), 37 passengers have been evacuated. Meanwhile, Head of North Sumatra Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency, Riyadil Akhir Lubis, noted in a text message received by Antara in Medan that 19 passengers aboard the wooden boat had been found safe but one of them had died.

Search for the missing passengers was stopped in the evening due to a bad weather.

Head of land transportation agency, Second Region North Sumatra, Sri Hardianto, told Antara that a joint team had been dispatched to the location immediately after the incident. However, by 7 p.m., the weather had turned bad due to heavy rain and strong wind.

The search operation was then stopped for fear of the safety of the search and rescue team. "It will be restarted when the weather turns well," he pointed out.

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