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Four Australians are missing at sea off the coast of Indonesia after their wooden boat hit bad weather.
The families of Elliot Foote, Steph Weisse, Will Teagle and Jordan Short put out a joint statement late on Monday confirming their disappearance.
"Our hearts are aching at the thought that Elliot, Steph, Will and Jordan are missing at sea," they said, in a statement released through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
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"We continue to pray and hold out hope they will be found.
"We'd like to thank the Indonesian authorities and the Australian government for their ongoing assistance while search and rescue efforts continue."
Three local crew members were reportedly also aboard.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson confirmed a search and rescue operation was under way.
"The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to the families of four Australians onboard and is working closely with Indonesian authorities to support search and rescue efforts," a spokesperson said.
"Our thoughts are with the family and friends of those missing during this distressing time."
Teagle's sister, Amy, said a group of 12 was on two wooden longboats heading from Nias island, about 120 kilometres from the North Sumatra coast, to the Banyak Islands, in Aceh.
Nias and the Banyak Islands are more than 50 kilometres apart at the closest point.
One of the boats reached the destination but the other hasn't.
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Teagle's aunt Leonie Hull also appealed on social media for help saying she was writing on behalf of his father, David.
"My son William and three Australian mates have gone missing on a boat transfer from Padang to Nias, Indonesia. Last sighting was 6pm Indo time last night in poor weather," the post said.
Basarnas, the National Search and Rescue Agency in Indonesia, said the boat had gone missing about 6pm on Sunday near an island in the Banyaks called Sarang Alu.
"Our team has arrived at Sarang Alu Island today to search the area. It is the last spot before both boats separated," said Octavianto, the Basarnas chief in Nias, told the Sydney Morning Herald.
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"The waves are three to four metres high. It is raining heavily and it's dark.
"We can only use smaller boats with good aerodynamics due to the weather.
"We are searching within 40 nautical miles of Sarang Alu Island.
"The weather was bad yesterday afternoon until today , very windy, and raining. Actually in the past one month the weather in Nias has been not so good.
"They used simple boats, wooden boats … they really went there on their own."
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