4 killed, 38 missing after passenger boat capsizes near Indonesia’s Bali

AP:
Four people have been confirmed dead, 23 were rescued and 38 remained missing after a passenger boat carrying 65 people capsized in the Bali Strait early Thursday, according to East Java Search and Rescue Office official Thalib.

The KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank almost half an hour after leaving East Java’s Ketapang port late Wednesday, the National Search and Rescue Agency said in a statement. It was bound for Bali’s Gilimanuk port, a 50-kilometer (30-mile) trip.

The ferry carried 53 passengers, 12 crew members and 22 vehicles, including 14 trucks, reports AP.
Many of those rescued were initially unconscious after drifting in choppy waters for hours, said Banyuwangi police chief Rama Samtama Putra.

Nine boats, including two tug boats and two inflatable boats have been searching for the missing people, battling waves up to 2 meters (6.5 feet) high in the overnight darkness.

Ferry tragedies are common in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, where ferries are often used as transport and safety regulations can lapse.