Six people have died and around 30 people are still missing after a ferry sank in Indonesia due to the rough weather, according to the BBC. This horrific boating accident happened on Wednesday while the ferry traveled from Banyuwangi to Bali.
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Death Toll Rises To Six And Dozens Remain Missing After Ferry Sinks
The Surabaya office of the National Search and Rescue Agency revealed that the boat sank just after 11 PM local time. The ferry was carrying 53 passengers and 12 crew members when it sank near Bali.
Since the boating accident, the agency has rescued 31 survivors. Still, they are searching for dozens more who remain missing. Several reports also claim there may have been more passengers on the ferry than believed.
According to CNN, the KMP Tuna Pratama Jaya sank nearly 30 minutes after taking off from Ketapang port. Rescue crews used a helicopter and nine boats to search for the missing survivors. They have also received help from local fishermen to aid the search.
The rescue agency believes the accident happened due to bad weather conditions. Rescuers even experienced strong waves reaching 2 meters (6.5 feet) high, which made search efforts difficult.
The Difficult Search Efforts
“For today’s search we are focusing on searching on the water, as the initial victims were found in the water between the location of the accident toward Gilimanuk port,” said Nanang Sigit, Surabaya Search and Rescue head, in a statement.
Sigit explained that they couldn’t contact the boat using a radio from the beginning. “Then it could be contacted by other ships from the same company,” he said. “But the ship was already in a tilting condition.”
They found many of the rescued passengers unconscious after they had been drifting in rough waters for hours. Rescue teams took the survivors to nearby medical facilities for recovery.
One of the survivors spoke to CNN about the terrifying ordeal. “When the ferry started to tilt, I initially intended to jump into the sea,” said 64-year-old Supardi.
“But the ship quickly sank, so I did not jump any more but sank with the water entering the ship, maybe about 7 meters (23 feet) deep, so I immediately climbed up to the top.” Supardi and three other survivors managed to stay afloat using life jackets
The Indonesian authorities are now investigating the cause of the ferry accident. According to survivors, they told rescuers there seemed to be a leak in the boat’s engine room. It had been carrying 22 vehicles, 14 of them being trucks.