6 dead, dozens missing as ferry with 65 people sinks off Indonesia’s Bali

At least six people have died and dozens are missing after a ferry carrying 65 people sank off Indonesia’s resort island of Bali, authorities say.

Rescuers have been engaged in a frantic search for survivors after the KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya, carrying 53 passengers and 12 crew members, sank shortly after leaving East Java’s Banyuwangi port on its way to Bali late on Wednesday, according to the national search and rescue agency, Basarnas.

Rescue officials who had earlier reported a death toll of five said a sixth victim – a three-year-old boy – was found dead on Thursday evening.

Rescuers temporarily called off their search on Thursday evening due to a “visibility problem”, said Nanang Sigit, head of the rescue agency, adding that 29 people had been rescued so far.

The agency is set to resume its search for 30 people still missing at sea on Friday.

“The condition of this ship is fully submerged, so there is a possibility that there are people inside the ferry. But right now, we are focusing on the surface of the water first,” Sigit said.

Banyuwangi police chief Rama Samtama Putra said many of the survivors were found unconscious after spending hours drifting in the ocean.

Panicked family members rushed to the departure port, some crying, as they sought information about their loved ones and hoped they were among the survivors.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who is visiting Saudi Arabia, ordered an immediate emergency response, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said in a statement, adding that the cause of the accident was “bad weather”.

Maritime disasters are a common occurrence in Indonesia, an archipelago of about 17,000 islands where lax safety standards often allow vessels to be overloaded without adequate life-saving equipment.

In March, a boat carrying 16 people capsized in rough waters off Bali, killing an Australian woman and injuring at least one person.

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