DENPASAR, Indonesia (BN24) — Indonesian rescue teams searched Thursday for 43 people missing after a ferry carrying passengers and vehicles sank overnight in rough seas off the coast of Bali, authorities said.
The KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya, which departed from Ketapang port in East Java late Wednesday, sank less than 30 minutes into its journey toward Gilimanuk port on Bali, according to Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency. The route covers approximately 50 kilometers (30 miles) across the Bali Strait.
The vessel was carrying 65 people in total, including 53 passengers and 12 crew members, along with 22 vehicles, among them 14 cargo trucks, the agency said in a statement.
So far, two bodies have been recovered from the choppy waters. Twenty people were rescued alive, many of them found unconscious after drifting for hours in darkness and heavy waves, Banyuwangi police chief Rama Samtama Putra said.
Nine vessels have been dispatched to the search area, including two tugboats and two inflatable rescue boats. Crews have been contending with waves reaching up to 2 meters (6.5 feet) high since the search began late Wednesday night.
Ferry accidents are a persistent danger in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands where ferries serve as a vital mode of transportation despite spotty enforcement of safety regulations. Overloading and poor maintenance have contributed to frequent maritime disasters over the years.
