At least 2 dead, 43 missing after ferry sinks near Bali

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Rescuers were searching Thursday for 43 people missing in rough seas overnight after a ferry carrying 65 people sank near Indonesia’s resort island of Bali.

The KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank almost half an hour after leaving East Java’s Ketapang port late Wednesday, the National Search and Rescue Agency said in a statement. It was bound for Bali’s Gilimanuk port, a 30-mile trip.

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Indonesia ferry rescue

In this photo released by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) rescuers search for victims after a ferry enroute for the resort island of Bali sank off Ketapang, East Java, Indonesia, early Thursday, July 3, 2025. (BASARNAS via AP)

The ferry carried 53 passengers, 12 crew members and 22 vehicles, including 14 trucks, it said.

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Two bodies have been recovered and 20 were rescued, many of them unconscious after drifting in choppy waters for hours, said Banyuwangi police chief Rama Samtama Putra.

Indonesian flag

Ferry disasters are common in Indonesia, whose flag is pictured here. (Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Nine boats, including two tug boats and two inflatable boats have been searching for the missing people since Wednesday night, battling waves up to 6.5 feet high in the overnight darkness.

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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.