At least 5 dead, many missing after ferry capsizes off Bali coast, rescue ops on

Five people are reported dead and many still missing after a ferry capsized overnight in rough seas off Indonesia’s resort island of Bali. Thirty-five of the 65 passengers on the boat were rescued, while the remaining 25 are missing. Many of them were found unconscious after drifting in choppy waters for hours, said the local police chief. The ferry was carrying 53 passengers, 12 crew members, and 22 vehicles, including 14 trucks, when it capsized shortly before midnight on Wednesday. The National Search and Rescue Agency said that the ferry was going from Banyuwangi on Java’s east coast to Bali.
“The ferry KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank about 25 minutes after weighing anchor,” the agency said. The cause of the capsize is not yet known.

“The ship is fully submerged, so there is a possibility that there are people inside. But right now we are focusing on the surface of the water first,” said Nanang Sigit, head of Surabaya search and rescue.

“For today’s search we are focusing on searching on the water, as the initial victims were found in the water between the location of the accident toward Gilimanuk port,” Sigit said in a statement Thursday morning.

Relatives of the passengers arrived at the departure port after getting news of the disaster. Many cried for their loved ones as they sought help from local authorities.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto orders immediate emergency response

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who was in Saudi Arabia, ordered an immediate emergency response, cabinet secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said.

The cabinet secretary said the boat likely capsized due to “bad weather”. However, a ferry operator said the vessel had reported issues with the engine shortly before it sank, local media reported.

The transport ministry has said that all passengers were Indonesian and no foreigner was involved in the accident.

Strong waves as high as 2 metres and darkness hampered the search and rescue operation overnight, but improved sea and weather conditions in the morning made it easier to find more missing people.

“The ferry could not be contacted via radio from the beginning. Then it could be contacted by other ships from the same company,” Sigit said.

Four survivors saved themselves by using the ferry’s lifeboat and were found in the water early on Thursday, the search agency said.

Ferry tragedies are common in Indonesia, an archipelago of over 17,000 islands where ferries are often used as transport and safety regulations are lax. The ferry from Java to Bali takes about an hour.

In 2018, more than 150 people were killed after a ferry sank in one of the world’s deepest lakes on the island of Sumatra.