Ferry Sinks En Route to Bali, Leaving Dozens Missing

Local police have reported that at least four individuals have died, and dozens are missing following the sinking of a ferry carrying 65 people en route to Bali, a popular Indonesian resort island. The incident occurred in the Bali Strait.

The vessel sank on Wednesday before midnight while traveling to a port in northern Bali. It had departed from Banyuwangi, a town located on Java, Indonesia's main island. According to a statement from the local search and rescue agency in Surabaya, four fatalities have been confirmed, with 31 people rescued and 30 still unaccounted for. The ferry was carrying 53 passengers, 12 crew members, and 22 vehicles.

The search and rescue agency indicated that the ferry, identified as KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya, sank approximately 25 minutes after departing. While the agency did not specify the cause, cabinet secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya later attributed the incident to adverse weather conditions. President Prabowo Subianto, who was in Saudi Arabia at the time, immediately ordered an emergency response.

Many of those rescued were initially unconscious after spending hours in the choppy waters. Search efforts involved nine boats, including tugboats and inflatable boats, battling waves reaching up to 2 meters in the darkness. Four survivors were found early Thursday after using the ferry's lifeboat.

The ferry route between Java and Bali typically takes about an hour and is frequently used by travelers transporting vehicles between the islands. It remains unclear if any foreign nationals were on board. It is also common in Indonesia for the actual passenger count to differ from the official manifest, potentially leading to more unaccounted individuals.

Marine accidents are a recurring issue in Indonesia, an archipelago comprising approximately 17,000 islands. This is partly due to relaxed safety regulations and sometimes due to inclement weather. In March, a boat capsized off Bali, resulting in the death of an Australian woman and injuries to others. In 2018, over 150 people perished when a ferry sank in a deep lake on Sumatra.