Rescuers find four Australian surfers missing off Indonesian coast

SYDNEY — Four Australian surfers have been found alive after their boat went missing in bad weather off the coast of Indonesia's Aceh province, however one of three Indonesian crew members is still missing, authorities said on Tuesday (Aug 15).

The seven were aboard a 10-metre (30 foot) wooden vessel travelling from Nias Island to Aceh province's Banyak Islands when they were separated from a second vessel during bad weather around 6pm on Sunday, according to Indonesia's national rescue agency.

Indonesia's national rescue agency had dispatched a rescue team to the survivors location.

Television footage showed Peter Foote, the father of one of the Australian surfers, reading a text from his son: "Hey Dad, Elliot here. I am alive, safe now, love you. Chat later."

Foote told reporters he wanted his son and friends to finish the remainder of their holiday.

"It's been hard, but it's all good now," he told Sky News. "Can't wait to talk to him. Wow, what an adventure he's having, a story to tell. He's come out the other end well so it's all good."

Accidents involving boats are common in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, as lax safety standards often allow vessels to be overloaded without adequate life-saving equipment.

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