An algorithm for the estimation of multiple targets from partial and corrupted observations is introduced based on the concept of a partially distinguishable multitarget system. It combines the advantages of engineering solutions like multiple hypothesis tracking with the rigor of point-process-based methods. It is demonstrated that under intuitive assumptions and approximations, the complexity of the proposed multitarget estimation algorithm can be made linear in terms of the number of tracks and the number of observations, while naturally preserving distinct tracks for detected targets, unlike point-process-based methods