Banyuwangi (ANTARA) - Indonesian rescuers have recovered eight bodies and evacuated 30 people, while 27 others remain missing at sea after the Tunu Pratama Jaya ferry sank in the Bali Strait on July 2, according to the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas).
"As of Monday evening (July 7), 30 people have been evacuated, eight have been confirmed dead, and 27 remain missing," Deputy for Basarnas' Search and Rescue Operations and Preparedness Ribut Eko Suyanto said.
Speaking to journalists at Ketapang Port, Banyuwangi District, East Java, on Monday evening, he said the seventh and eighth bodies recovered on Sunday could be identified by the East Java Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team.
According to Adjunct Senior Commissioner Adam Bimantoro from the East Java Police DVI Division, the seventh body, which a local fisherman found in the southern area of the Bali Strait on Sunday afternoon, was identified as Daniar Nadief, 21.
Nadief was a resident of Sumbergondo Village, Glenmore Subdistrict, Banyuwangi, East Java, while the eighth recovered body belonged to I Kadek Oka, a 51-year-old resident of Banjarangkan Village, Klungkung District, Bali.
Oka's body was recovered by rescue workers during their operations on Sunday about six miles from where the ferry was first reported sinking on Wednesday evening, July 2.
On the fifth day of the search operation on Monday, all primary equipment was dispatched to the southern area off Bali Island where the ferry was first reported sinking, Suyanto said earlier.
"The farthest distance of today's search operations reaches 20–25 miles," the deputy for search and rescue operations and preparedness said.
During the operation, naval vessels KRI Marlin 877 and KRI Tongkol covered the farthest distance, while five other ships conducted searches at distances of 5, 10, and 15 miles.
The vessels included KP Bima 7014, KN SAR Permadi, KN SAR Arjuna, KNP Granti, and KP Hiu Macan Tutul.
Wahyu Setia Budi, a local SAR coordinator, said earlier that the roll-on/roll-off ferry was carrying 53 passengers, 12 crew members, and 22 vehicles when it left Ketapang Port in Banyuwangi, East Java, at 10:56 p.m. on July 2, 2025.
The vessel sank en route to Gilimanuk Port in Bali around 11:35 p.m. the same day.
In response to the tragedy, President Prabowo Subianto has instructed all relevant government agencies to make every possible effort to rescue the remaining passengers and crew of the ill-fated ferry.
