Four Dead As Ferry With 65 Aboard Sinks Near Bali In Indonesia, Dozens Remain Missing

At least 4 dead, 23 rescued as ferry sinks near Bali with 65 onboard. Dozens still missing as search intensifies in Indonesia’s Bali Strait. Latest updates on the tragic accident.

An AI representation of a ferry capsizing.

Source : ABPLIVE AI

At least four people have reportedly died after a ferry carrying 65 people sank late on Wednesday night while en route to Indonesia's popular tourist destination, Bali. As of Thursday morning, July 3, 38 passengers remain missing, according to officials.

The vessel, identified as KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya, went down in the Bali Strait, the narrow waterway separating Bali from Indonesia's main island, Java, just 25 minutes after departing from the eastern Javan port of Banyuwangi. "Twenty-three rescued, four dead," said Rama Samtama Putra, police chief of Banyuwangi, speaking to AFP early Thursday. The search and rescue operation is ongoing.

Midnight Tragedy

According to a statement from the Surabaya Search and Rescue Agency, the ferry had departed Banyuwangi before midnight, bound for a port in northern Bali. The vessel's manifest listed 53 passengers and 12 crew members, along with 22 vehicles, including 14 trucks.

But minutes after setting sail, disaster struck.

Search teams were immediately dispatched, with inflatable rescue boats deployed to scour the waters. A larger vessel was later sent from Surabaya to strengthen the operation. The four known survivors managed to escape using a lifeboat and were found floating in the water in the early hours of Thursday.

Authorities have not yet confirmed the cause of the sinking.

Manifest Concerns And Ongoing Rescue

Rescuers are still trying to determine whether more people were on board than listed. In Indonesia, discrepancies between the actual number of passengers and official manifests are common, reported Singapore-based news website CNA.

The ferry route from Java to Bali typically takes about an hour and is a well-used corridor for travellers moving between the two islands by car or truck.

Not The First Maritime Tragedy

This latest accident adds to a troubling pattern of maritime mishaps in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, where ferry travel is common, but safety standards are often poorly enforced.

In March this year, a boat carrying 16 people capsized in rough seas off Bali, killing an Australian woman and injuring at least one other passenger. Back in 2022, a ferry with over 800 passengers ran aground in East Nusa Tenggara province and remained stranded for two days—fortunately, no injuries were reported.

But perhaps the most harrowing in recent memory came in 2018, when more than 150 people drowned after a ferry sank in Lake Toba, one of the world's deepest lakes, located on Sumatra island.