On Thursday, rescuers were searching for 43 individuals reported missing after a ferry carrying 65 passengers sank amid rough seas near Indonesia’s Bali island overnight.
According to a statement from the National Search and Rescue Agency, the KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank nearly half an hour following its departure from East Java’s Ketapang port late Wednesday. The ferry was en route to Bali’s Gilimanuk port, covering a distance of 30 miles.
Banyuwangi police chief Rama Samtama Putra stated that two bodies have been recovered, and 20 people were rescued, many of whom were found unconscious after drifting in turbulent waters for several hours.
Ferry disasters are common in Indonesia, whose flag is pictured here. (Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Nine boats, including two tug boats and two inflatable boats have been searching for the missing people since Wednesday night, battling waves up to 6.5 feet high in the overnight darkness.
Ferry tragedies are common in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, where ferries are often used as transport and safety regulations can lapse.
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