DENPASAR: At least 61 people were missing after a ferry sank off the popular Indonesian resort island of Bali, a local search and rescue agency said on Thursday (Jul 3).
The vessel sank around 11.20pm on Wednesday in the Bali Strait as it sailed to the famous holiday destination from Indonesia’s main island Java, the Surabaya search and rescue agency said in a statement.
“The ferry’s manifest data totalled 53 passengers and 12 passenger crews,” the Java-based agency said, adding rescue efforts were still underway.
“The ferry, which is estimated to have sunk at 11.20pm local time, also contained 22 vehicles, including 14 trucks,” it said.
The agency said in a later statement that four people were rescued in the early hours of Thursday.
Marine accidents are a regular occurrence in Indonesia, a Southeast Asian archipelago of around 17,000 islands, in part due to lax safety standards.
In March, a boat carrying 16 people capsized in rough waters off Bali, killing an Australian woman and injuring at least one other person.
In 2018, more than 150 people drowned when a ferry sank in one of the world’s deepest lakes on Sumatra island.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-bali-61-missing-boat-sinks-5217481
