Indonesian rescue officials continued the search Wednesday for several people still missing after a ferry sank Tuesday in rough seas off the coast of Bali.
Officials say the KMP Yunicee ferry, with 57 people on board, went down shortly after leaving Java island’s Port of Ketapang en route to Bali’s Gilimanuk port at the western end of the island.
Port Authority official Benyamin Ginting told Agence France-Presse that two vessels reached the scene shortly after the ferry faltered and rescued about 40 people. But he said many passengers were still trapped as the ferry continued to sink. Many of those recovered were unconscious after hours of drifting in choppy waters.
Rescue officials said the search-and-rescue efforts were hampered by the rough seas and poor visibility. Seven bodies were eventually recovered.
Rescue officials displayed life jackets and other materials recovered from the ferry during the search-and-rescue operations. Ginting said some of the life preservers were found to have been locked shut so they could not be worn.
No cause for the sinking has been identified. Ferry tragedies are common in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, with weak enforcement of safety regulations often to blame.
