Bali sinking: 30 people still missing

Hundreds of rescuers resumed, Friday, research after the sinking on Wednesday evening of a ferry off the Indonesian island of Bali on Wednesday evening, which left six dead and thirty missing. The ferry with 65 passengers and crew members, on board, set sail on Wednesday from Banyuwangi, on the eastern coast of Java, to reach the north of the island of Bali and sank shortly before midnight, in difficult sea conditions, according to witnesses and managers of the rescue services.

According to the latest report released Thursday evening, 6 people died, 29 were rescued and 30 are missing. Significant resources were deployed on Friday to carry out searches by sea and by air, research which was extended along the coasts of eastern Java and western Bali, journalists Ribut Eko Suyatno, national research and rescue agency.

“The land research and rescue unit (…) asks us to rattle the Ketapang beach (on the island of Java, editor’s note) from north to south. The same goes for Gilimanuk, “he said. Gilimanuk is a city located in the far northwest of Bali, separated from the Big Island of Java by a narrow strait. The crossing of the port of Katapang, east of Java to the port of Gilimanuk, separated by approximately 5 km, lasts about an hour, and is commonly carried out by the inhabitants of the region.

More than 300 rescuers were deployed on Friday to continue the interrupted research the night before and resumed on Friday at 8:00 am local (02:00 in Switzerland), the research and rescue agency of Surabaya said. While the weather is rainy and cloudy, with waves up to 1.30 meters, a helicopter, two research and rescue ships and four rigid pneumatic canoes have been deployed. Other ships could potentially participate in research operations, according to the same source.

A three -year -old boy, a sixth victim, was found dead Thursday evening, held rescue operations said. “The ferry stolen and immediately sank,” said Eka Toniansyah, a survivor, to journalists in a Bali hospital on Thursday. “Most passengers came from Indonesia. I was with my father. (He) died ”. The authorities did not specify if foreigners were on board.

According to the list of on board, 53 passengers and twelve crew members were on board, but it is not uncommon in Indonesia that the actual number of passengers differs from the official list. Four of the known survivors used a ferry rescue canoe and were found at sea early Thursday morning.

Maritime accidents regularly occur in Indonesia, a large archipelago of around 17,000 islands, partly due to lax safety standards. In March, a boat carrying sixteen people capsized in agitated sea conditions off the same tourist island of Bali. An Australian died and at least another person was injured.