Indonesian rescuers intensify search for 30 people missing after ferry sinks near Bali
The KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank almost half an hour after leaving Ketapang port in East Java late Wednesday for a trip of about 5 kilometers (3 miles) to Bali's Gilimanuk port. The search and rescue operation was halted Thursday evening due to visibility problems and resumed on Friday morning with more than 160 rescuers, including police and soldiers, said Ribut Eko Suyatno, the deputy chief of operations at the National Search and Rescue Agency.
Three helicopters and a thermal drone were deployed to conduct an aerial search over the waters of the Bali Strait, while about 20 vessels were mobilized for the sea search, Suyatno said. As weather forecasts predict high waves and rough waters around the Bali Strait on Friday, he said at least three navy ships to being deployed to replace small boats.
Videos and photos released by the agency showed rescuers looking desperately from rescue boats in the waters, but no new survivors. The agency released the names of 29 survivors and six people confirmed dead late Thursday. It didn't release names of the missing, but according to the passenger manifest there were 30 people missing.
On Friday, survivors were being treated at Bali's Jembrana Regional Hospital, while the bodies have been handed over to the families for funerals. Distraught relatives gathered at the port office in Gilimanuk hoping for news of missing family members.
Indonesian authorities are investigating the cause of the accident. Survivors told rescuers there appeared to be a leak in the engine room of the ferry, which was carrying 22 vehicles, including 14 trucks.
Ferry tragedies occur regularly in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, with weak enforcement of safety regulations often to blame. Fifteen people were killed after a boat capsized off Indonesia's Sulawesi in 2023, while another ferry sank in rough seas near Bali in 2021 leaving seven dead and 11 missing. In 2018, an overcrowded ferry sank with about 200 people on board in a deep volcanic crater lake in North Sumatra province, killing 167 people. In one of the country's worst recorded disasters, an overcrowded passenger ship sank in February 1999 with 332 people aboard. There were only 20 survivors.
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Arab News
15 hours ago
- Arab News
Indonesian rescuers widen search for missing after ferry sinks
Gilimanuk, Indonesia: Hundreds of Indonesian rescuers widened their search for dozens of missing people Friday after a ferry sank in rough seas on the way to the resort island of Bali, with six bodies recovered. The ferry carrying at least 65 people, including passengers and crew, was making a five-kilometer (3.2-mile) crossing from eastern Java island to Bali when it tilted and sank in bad weather late Wednesday, witnesses and officials said. As of Friday morning, 30 people were still missing after 29 were plucked from the water to safety. Rescuers said one of the six found dead was a three-year-old boy. Tearful survivors described their horror when the ship went down, including one man who lost his wife. 'I was joking around with my wife. And then... the ferry tilted. The accident was very fast,' Febriani, who like many Indonesians has one name, told AFP late Thursday. 'I resigned my fate... and asked God to save my wife. It turned out... my wife died but I survived,' said the 27-year-old, welling up with tears. 'I jumped with my wife. I managed to get back up but my wife slipped away.' Rescuers carried out searches by sea and air on Friday, expanding their efforts along the coastlines of eastern Java and Bali, national search and rescue agency operations official Ribut Eko Suyatno told reporters. 'The land search rescue unit... we ask to comb through the Ketapang beach from north to south. Also likewise for Gilimanuk,' he said. But as of Friday afternoon, no further victims had been found. 'From the communication that we received, it's still zero (victims found) from the search,' Yudi, a captain of one of the deployed rescue vessels, told broadcaster Metro TV. The ferry passage from Java's Ketapang port to Gilimanuk port on Bali — one of the busiest crossings in the country — takes around one hour and is often used by people traveling between the islands with a car. Local rescue officials said the KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya vessel sank 25 minutes into its journey. At least 306 rescuers were deployed Friday for the search effort, the Java-based Surabaya search and rescue agency said. The search was temporarily halted overnight and resumed around 8:00 am (0000 GMT) Friday in Bali. Rescuers had deployed inflatable boats, larger rescue vessels and a helicopter to aid the search on Thursday, made up of dozens of personnel, including navy and police officers. At least four survivors were found early on Thursday after saving themselves by climbing into the ferry's lifeboat. Initial search efforts were hampered by bad weather, with waves as high as 2.5 meters (8 feet) and strong winds. The ferry's manifest showed 53 passengers and 12 crew members but it is common in Indonesia for the actual number of passengers on a boat to differ from that document. Marine accidents are a regular occurrence in Indonesia, a Southeast Asian archipelago nation of around 17,000 islands, in part due to lax safety standards and sometimes due to bad weather. In March, a boat carrying 16 people capsized in rough waters off Bali, killing an Australian woman and injuring at least one other person. In 2018, more than 150 people drowned when a ferry sank in one of the world's deepest lakes on Sumatra island.
Al Arabiya
19 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Indonesian rescuers intensify search for 30 people missing after ferry sinks near Bali
Indonesian authorities intensified on Friday a search operation for 30 people missing after a ferry sank near the tourist island of Bali. The KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank almost half an hour after leaving Ketapang port in East Java late Wednesday for a trip of about 5 kilometers (3 miles) to Bali's Gilimanuk port. The search and rescue operation was halted Thursday evening due to visibility problems and resumed on Friday morning with more than 160 rescuers, including police and soldiers, said Ribut Eko Suyatno, the deputy chief of operations at the National Search and Rescue Agency. Three helicopters and a thermal drone were deployed to conduct an aerial search over the waters of the Bali Strait, while about 20 vessels were mobilized for the sea search, Suyatno said. As weather forecasts predict high waves and rough waters around the Bali Strait on Friday, he said at least three navy ships to being deployed to replace small boats. Videos and photos released by the agency showed rescuers looking desperately from rescue boats in the waters, but no new survivors. The agency released the names of 29 survivors and six people confirmed dead late Thursday. It didn't release names of the missing, but according to the passenger manifest there were 30 people missing. On Friday, survivors were being treated at Bali's Jembrana Regional Hospital, while the bodies have been handed over to the families for funerals. Distraught relatives gathered at the port office in Gilimanuk hoping for news of missing family members. Indonesian authorities are investigating the cause of the accident. Survivors told rescuers there appeared to be a leak in the engine room of the ferry, which was carrying 22 vehicles, including 14 trucks. Ferry tragedies occur regularly in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, with weak enforcement of safety regulations often to blame. Fifteen people were killed after a boat capsized off Indonesia's Sulawesi in 2023, while another ferry sank in rough seas near Bali in 2021 leaving seven dead and 11 missing. In 2018, an overcrowded ferry sank with about 200 people on board in a deep volcanic crater lake in North Sumatra province, killing 167 people. In one of the country's worst recorded disasters, an overcrowded passenger ship sank in February 1999 with 332 people aboard. There were only 20 survivors.
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Al Arabiya
61 missing after ferry sinks on way to Indonesia's Bali
Indonesian rescuers were racing Thursday to find at least 61 people missing after a ferry sank on its way to the popular resort island of Bali, a local search and rescue agency said. The vessel sank before midnight on Wednesday in the Bali Strait as it sailed to the famous holiday destination from Indonesia's main island Java, Surabaya search and rescue agency said in a statement Thursday. 'KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya... sank about 25 minutes after weighing anchor,' the Java-based agency said. 'The ferry's manifest data totaled 53 passengers and 12 passenger crew,' it said, adding in a later statement that four people were rescued in the early hours of Thursday. The agency said the boat sank on its way from Banyuwangi in eastern Java to a port in northern Bali but did not give a cause for the accident. It said a rescue team and inflatable rescue boats were dispatched immediately and a bigger vessel was later sent from Surabaya to assist the search efforts. The four known survivors saved themselves by using the ferry's lifeboat and were found in the water early Thursday, the agency said. It said the ferry was also transporting 22 vehicles, including 14 trucks. – Accidents common – Rescuers said they were still assessing if there were more people onboard than the ferry's manifest showed. It is common in Indonesia for the actual number of passengers on a boat to differ from the manifest. The ferry from Java to Bali takes around one hour and is often used by people crossing between the islands by car. It was unclear if any foreigners were onboard when the ferry sank. Marine accidents are a regular occurrence in Indonesia, a Southeast Asian archipelago of around 17,000 islands, in part due to lax safety standards and sometimes due to bad weather. In March, a boat carrying 16 people capsized in rough waters off Bali, killing an Australian woman and injuring at least one other person. A ferry carrying more than 800 people ran aground in shallow waters off East Nusa Tenggara province in 2022 and remained stuck for two days before being dislodged with no one hurt. And in 2018, more than 150 people drowned when a ferry sank in one of the world's deepest lakes on Sumatra island.
