Indonesia rescuers find 31 survivors in ongoing search after ferry sinks
near Bali
[July 03, 2025]
By FIRDIA LISNAWATI, EDNA TARIGAN and NINIEK KARMINI
GILIMANUK, Indonesia (AP) — Rescuers were searching Thursday for 29
people who were missing after a ferry sank and five people died the
previous night near Indonesia’s resort island of Bali.
As of Thursday afternoon, 31 people had been rescued from the ferry's 53
passengers and 12 crew members, the National Search and Rescue Agency
said in a statement.
“The condition of this ship is fully submerged, so there is a
possibility that there are people inside the ferry. But right now we are
focusing on the surface of the water first,” Surabaya Search and Rescue
head Nanang Sigit said.
The five bodies located by rescuers will be taken to their families in
Banyuwangi, Sigit said.
The KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank almost half an hour after leaving
Ketapang port in the East Java town of Banyuwangi late Wednesday for a
trip of about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) to Bali’s Gilimanuk port,
authorities said.
A helicopter and 15 boats searched for survivors with assistance from
fishermen and people onshore.
Weather was a significant factor in the search effort. Strong waves up
to 2 meters (6.5 feet) high and darkness hampered emergency responders
overnight. While conditions improved Thursday morning, Indonesia’s
Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency indicated waves reached
up to 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) with strong currents and winds Thursday
afternoon.
“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 in a statement Thursday
morning.
An officer at the port witnessed the sinking before rescuers could be
alerted.
“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,” Sigit said.
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A relative of a passenger weeps after a ferry sank while en route to
the resort island of Bali, in the waters off Banyuwangi, East Java,
in Gilimanuk, Bali island, Indonesia, Thursday, July 3, 2025. (AP
Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Many of those rescued were unconscious after drifting in choppy
waters for hours, Banyuwangi Police Chief Rama Samtama Putra said.
Indonesian authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.
Survivors told rescuers there appeared to be a leak in the engine
room of the ferry, which was carrying 22 vehicles including 14
trucks.
Some family members arrived at the port in a panic or weeping as
they sought information about their loved ones.
Survivors were taken to nearby medical facilities including Jembrana
Regional Hospital in Bali.
“When the ferry started to tilt, I initially intended to jump into
the sea, but the ship quickly sank, so I did not jump any more but
sank with the water entering the ship, maybe about 7 meters (23
feet) deep, so I immediately climbed up to the top,” said Supardi,
64, a survivor at the hospital.
He and three other people grouped together in the water and used
life jackets to say afloat, he said.
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.
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Tarigan and Karmini reported from Jakarta, Indonesia.
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