MAKASSAR: Up to 10 people were feared dead after two cargo ships collided in Indonesian waters, an official and survivors said Thursday.

The Trisal Pratama, carrying 2,000 tonnes of cement, sank after it collided with the Indimatam, loaded with scrap metal, in the Makassar Strait early Wednesday morning, the official said.

Makassar port chief Afrianus Tapangan said eight crew members were missing, while survivors said two passengers including a young child were also unaccounted for.

Ten crew and a passenger were rescued from the sinking Trisal, Tapangan said.

"Without floating devices and life jackets, I fear that the missing people could be dead by now," he said.

The Indonesian archipelago of more than 17,000 islands is heavily dependent on maritime services, but its safety record is poor and fatal accidents are common.

Up to 335 people were killed when a heavily overloaded ferry sank off Sulawesi island in January last year.

BDST: 1212 HRS, August 05, 2010