a day ago
At least 5 dead after ferry sinks on its way to Bali
An Indonesian ferry carrying at least 65 passengers sank in the Bali Strait Wednesday night, leaving at least five people dead and more than 30 missing, according to local reports and Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency, Basarnas. The death toll is expected to rise and the exact number of passengers remains uncertain.
The ferry was traveling from Ketapang Port in Banyuwangi, Jaava, to Gilimanuk in Bali, according to the Indonesian Outlet Jakarta Post. It sank less than 30 minutes into its journey at around 11:20 p.m. local time.
Footage shared by Basarnas of the nighttime search operation showed rescuers using flashlights to survey the surface of the water. The search, which faced difficulties overnight due to weather conditions, continued Thursday. Basarnas did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the search efforts.
Survivors are receiving medical treatment and will be transported to their hometowns, I Nyoman Sidakarya, the head of Basarnas, Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency, told the Jakarta Post, a newspaper in Indonesia's capital. Some survivors will be accompanied by Inland Waterway and Ferry Transport Gilimanuk officials, Sidakarya said.
Images from Gilimanuk showed a group of about a dozen survivors waiting to get their blood drawn while officials gathered around them. The exact number of survivors has not yet been counted.
It's unclear what caused the ferry — a red-and-white vessel dubbed the Tunu Pratama Jaya — to sink. At the time of the incident, sea conditions were hazardous with high waves and severe winds, the Jakarta Post reported.
'The ferry could not be contacted via radio from the beginning. Then it could be contacted by other ships from the same company. But the ship was already in a tilting condition,' Surabaya Search and Rescue head Nanang Sigit said in a statement, the AP reported.
Crowds gathering at a reunion center Thursday, waiting tensely for news of relatives.
Indonesia's National Armed Forces have provided vessels, aircraft and a diving team to assist in the effort to locate the missing passengers. Kristomei Sianturi, a spokesman for the Indonesian Navy's Eastern Fleet Command, said they had deployed additional maritime resources as well, the Jakarta Post reported.
Indonesia has a long history of ferry disasters on its crowded waterways. The world's fourth largest country by population, spread across more than 17,000 islands, it sees a high volume of ferry traffic, and boats are sometimes loaded with passengers beyond their official manifests.
