Indonesia Ferry Sinks Near Bali: 2 Dead, 43 Missing in Ongoing Rescue Operation

A ferry named KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank near Indonesia’s Bali Island late Wednesday, half an hour after it left East Java’s Ketapang port. Sixty-five people were onboard, including 12 crew and 14 trucks. The National Search and Rescue Agency has confirmed that 43 people are still missing, 20 rescued but in critical condition, and two dead. The ferry was on a 50-kilometre journey to Bali’s Gilimanuk port.

The rescue agency has confirmed that the ferry was carrying 53 passengers, 12 crew members, and 22 vehicles, including 14 trucks.

Banyuwangi police chief Rama Samtama Putra shared that 2 bodies have been recovered and 20 people rescued so far. Survivors are unconscious as they drift for hours in rough waters. “Ever since we got the information, nine boats, including two tugboats and two inflatable vessels, have been searching intensively. Rescuers are trying their best but 6.5-feet-high waves are making the rescue operation difficult.”

This isn’t the first of a kind incident; ferry incidents are very common in Indonesia, especially near an archipelago of over 17,000 islands. Here, ferries serve as a key mode of transport, and sometimes safety protocols aren’t followed strictly, leading to such incidents. This year in May, 7 domestic tourists died and 34 were injured after a wooden boat sank in Bengkulu province. One of the latest incidents happened last month, when a tourist boat carrying 89 people capsized off Bali’s coast; however, all passengers were rescued safely.