Bali ferry tragedy: 42 found, search ongoing for 23 missing

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) reported that 42 victims have been recovered from the Tunu Pratama Jaya ferry, which capsized in Bali waters.

The ferry carried 65 people, according to the manifest.

In a statement on Thursday, the agency said that the search for the remaining 23 passengers is ongoing and includes the use of underwater cameras.

Basarnas Deputy for Operations and Preparedness R. Eko Suyatno said that as of Thursday morning, 42 victims had been located, comprising 30 survivors and 12 fatalities.

He added that a joint SAR team continues the search in the Bali Strait, despite challenging weather conditions.

An underwater camera was deployed to a depth of 35 meters, but was swept away by strong currents shortly after deployment.

The operation was supervised by First Admiral Endra Hartono, Commander of the Naval Air Station (Danguspurla) of the Second Fleet Command.

"However, before it was swept away, we managed to capture images of underwater objects at a depth of 48 to 49 meters," Hartono noted.

As of Thursday afternoon, sea rescue teams searching the southern sector and land teams monitoring the coastline had not found additional victims.

According to the Banyuwangi Police, one of the two bodies recovered on Thursday was identified as Putu Mertayasa, a resident of Buleleng, Bali.

The roll-on/roll-off ferry was carrying 53 passengers, 12 crew members, and 22 vehicles when it departed Ketapang Port in Banyuwangi, East Java, at 10:56 p.m. on July 2. The vessel sank en route to Gilimanuk Port in Bali at approximately 11:35 p.m.