AFP News Agency
At least four people died and nearly 40 remained missing on Thursday after a ferry sank the night before near the Indonesian tourist island of Bali, local authorities said.
Rescue teams managed to save 23 people and are continuing the search for the remaining passengers and crew who were traveling from the main island of Java to this popular Southeast Asian holiday destination.
Officer Rama Samtama Putra, police chief of Banyuwangi, the town from which the boat departed in East Java, told AFP of a provisional tally of 23 people rescued and four dead.
According to local rescue services, the ferry's passenger list listed a total of 53 passengers and 12 crew members, although they do not rule out the possibility that there were more people on board.
The ship sank for reasons still unknown shortly before midnight, about 25 minutes after setting sail from Banyuwangi.
Rescue teams deployed inflatable boats and a larger vessel in the area to try to find possible survivors or victims of the shipwreck.
Four of the rescued people were found early Thursday in one of the ferry's lifeboats, which was also carrying 22 vehicles.
This ferry from Java to Bali is usually used by people crossing between the two islands by car. It is unknown at this time whether there were any foreigners on board.
Shipping accidents occur with some frequency in this huge archipelago made up of some 17,000 islands, partly due to lax safety standards.
In March, a boat capsized off Bali, causing the death of an Australian passenger.
In 2018, more than 150 people drowned when a ferry sank in one of the world's deepest lakes on the island of Sumatra.
AFP News Agency
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