A ferry carrying dozens of passengers and crew has sunk off the coast of Indonesia’s popular tourist island of Bali, leaving at least four people dead and many others missing, according to local rescue officials.

The vessel, which had 53 passengers and 12 crew members on board, went down at 23:20 local time (15:35 GMT) on Wednesday night while traveling from Banyuwangi on the eastern coast of Java to Gilimanuk Port in Bali. The cause of the sinking is under investigation, with initial reports suggesting engine trouble may have played a role.

The Surabaya office of Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) confirmed that 29 people have been rescued so far. Search and rescue operations are continuing amid rough seas and fading hope for those still unaccounted for.

“We are doing everything we can to locate the missing individuals,” said a spokesperson for Basarnas. “Our teams have deployed boats and are scanning the waters near the site of the incident.”

The ferry route between Java and Bali is one of the busiest in Indonesia, commonly used by locals for work, trade, and tourism. Many of the survivors are residents of Banyuwangi, while others came from more inland areas of Java, according to a preliminary list released by authorities.

President Prabowo Subianto, currently on an official visit to Saudi Arabia, has ordered an immediate emergency response. “The safety of our citizens is paramount. I have instructed the relevant agencies to intensify rescue operations without delay,” the president said in a statement released through his office.

The ferry operator told local media that the crew had reported engine trouble shortly before the vessel sank. Authorities are now reviewing the ferry’s maintenance records and investigating possible violations of safety protocols.

Photos shared by state-run Antara News Agency showed ambulances lined up along the coast and families waiting anxiously by the roadside for updates.

Marine accidents are tragically common in Indonesia, a vast archipelago of over 17,000 islands where enforcement of maritime safety standards is often inconsistent. Many vessels are aged, overloaded, or poorly maintained, leading to deadly incidents nearly every year.

In March, an Australian woman died after a small boat carrying 16 people capsized off Bali, raising renewed concerns about Indonesia’s maritime safety record.

As search efforts continue off the Bali coast, families of the missing are clinging to hope for good news, while calls for stricter maritime oversight grow louder across the country.

Chioma Kalu

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Jakarta, Indonesia AP —

Rescuers were searching Thursday for 32 people missing after a ferry sank the previous night near Indonesia’s resort island of Bali. Four bodies have been recovered, and weather and sea conditions were improving during the morning, aiding the search for survivors.

So far, 29 people have been rescued, according to the National Search and Rescue Agency.

Family members came to the departure port in panic, some weeping, as they sought reassurance about their loved ones and hoped they were among the survivors.

Nine boats, including two tug boats and two inflatable boats, as well as local fishermen and people onshore searched for people. Strong waves up to 2 meters (6.5 feet) high and darkness had hampered the search overnight, but a rescue official said improved weather and sea conditions in the morning made it easier for rescuers to continue the search for the missing victims.

The KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank almost half an hour after leaving Ketapang port in the East Java town of Banyuwangi late Wednesday, 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, the National Search and Rescue Agency said in a statement.

The ferry sinking was witnessed by the on-duty officer at the port before it was reported to the rescue team.

“The ferry could not be contacted via radio from the beginning. Then it could be contacted by other ships from the same company. But the ship was already in a tilting condition,” said Nanang Sigit, head of Surabaya Search and Rescue agency, in a statement.

“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,” Sigit said.

Many of those rescued were unconscious after drifting in choppy waters for hours, said Banyuwangi police chief Rama Samtama Putra.

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.

Out of 65 people on board the sunken ship in Indonesia, 29 were rescued. Four more people died. The search operation continues

Search operation in the area where the ferry capsized (Photo: EPA / Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency)

Late in the evening of July 2, a ferry with 65 people on board sank near the resort island of Bali in Indonesia. This was reported by Associated Press with reference to the Indonesian Search and Rescue Agency.

The KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank almost half an hour after leaving the port of Ketapang in Banyuwangi, East Java. The vessel was heading to the port of Gilimanuk in Bali.

Nine boats, including two tugboats and two inflatable boats, as well as local fishermen and people on the shore took part in the search operations.

Strong waves up to two meters high and darkness hampered the work overnight, but a rescue official said that improved weather and sea conditions in the morning made it easier for rescuers to continue searching for the missing.

As of the morning of July 3, 29 people have been rescued, four more have died.

Photo: EPA / Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency

A ferry en route to Bali sank off the coast of Ketapang, East Java, leaving at least four people dead and 38 others missing late Wednesday night.

The vessel, identified as KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya, was carrying 65 people, including 12 crew members and 53 passengers, along with over 20 vehicles.

According to Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency, the ferry began its journey toward Gilimanuk Port in Bali but sank barely 30 minutes after departing Ketapang. Search efforts began immediately, and as of Thursday morning, 23 individuals have been rescued—many found unconscious after drifting for hours in turbulent seas.

“We are deploying all resources despite strong waves and poor nighttime visibility,” said Rama Samtama Putra, the Banyuwangi police chief. The rescue operation involves nine vessels, including tugboats and inflatable crafts, as responders battle waves reaching up to two meters.

Officials have confirmed no foreign nationals were aboard the ferry. Identification of the deceased is underway.

Ferries are a primary mode of transport across Indonesia’s archipelago, which spans more than 17,000 islands. But incidents like this underscore persistent safety concerns in the region’s maritime network. In 2023, a similar incident near Sulawesi claimed 15 lives.

As the nation awaits further updates, rescue teams continue to search for survivors, fueled by hope and urgency amid the challenging sea conditions.

4 dead, 30 missing after ferry sinks on way to Indonesia’s Bali

Family members wait at Ketapang Port in East Java for updates on the search for missing people after a ferry sank on its way to the popular Indonesian resort island of Bali (STR) (STR/AFP/AFP)

At least four people were dead and dozens unaccounted for Thursday after a ferry sank in rough seas on its way to Indonesian resort island Bali, according to rescue authorities who said 31 survivors had been plucked from the water so far.

Rescuers were racing to find 30 people still missing at sea after the vessel carrying 65 passengers and crew sank before midnight on Wednesday as it sailed to the popular holiday destination from Indonesia’s main island Java.

“The ferry tilted and immediately sank,” survivor Eka Toniansyah told reporters at a Bali hospital.

“Most of the passengers were from Indonesia. I was with my father. My father is dead.”

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Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency chief Mohammad Syafii told a news conference Thursday that 31 survivors had been found.

“Four people died, so 30 people are still being searched for,” he said, adding the national agency sent a helicopter to help the effort.

President Prabowo Subianto, who was on a trip to Saudi Arabia, ordered an immediate emergency response, cabinet secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said in a statement Thursday, adding the cause of the accident was “bad weather”.

Java-based Surabaya search and rescue agency head Nanang Sigit, who had earlier put the total number of missing at 38, said efforts to reach the doomed vessel were initially hampered by adverse weather conditions.

Waves as high as 2.5 metres (8 feet) with “strong winds and strong currents” had affected the rescue operation, he said, adding conditions have since improved.

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A rescue team of at least 54 personnel including from the navy and police were dispatched along with inflatable rescue boats, he said, while a bigger vessel was later sent from Surabaya city to assist the search efforts.

– Following currents –

Nanang said rescuers would follow currents and expand the search area if there were still unaccounted for people by the end of the day.

“For today’s search, we are still focusing on search above the water where initial victims were found,” the Surabaya search and rescue chief said.

The ferry’s manifest showed 53 passengers and 12 crew members, he said, but rescuers were still assessing if there were more people onboard than the manifest showed.

It is common in Indonesia for the actual number of passengers on a boat to differ from the manifest.

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– Frequent accidents –

The ferry crossing from Ketapang port in Java’s Banyuwangi regency to Bali’s Gilimanuk port — one of the busiest in Indonesia — is around 5 kilometres (3 miles) as the crow flies and takes around one hour.

It is often used by people crossing between the islands by car.

Four of the known survivors saved themselves by using the ferry’s lifeboat and were found in the water early Thursday, the Surabaya rescue agency said.

It said the ferry was also transporting 22 vehicles, including 14 trucks.

It was unclear if any foreigners were onboard when the ferry sank.

Marine accidents are a regular occurrence in Indonesia, a Southeast Asian archipelago of around 17,000 islands, in part due to lax safety standards and sometimes due to bad weather.

In March, a boat carrying 16 people capsized in rough waters off Bali, killing an Australian woman and injuring at least one other person.

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A ferry carrying more than 800 people ran aground in shallow waters off East Nusa Tenggara province in 2022 and remained stuck for two days before being dislodged with no one hurt.

And in 2018, more than 150 people drowned when a ferry sank in one of the world’s deepest lakes on Sumatra island.

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