GILIMANUK, Indonesia: Hundreds of Indonesian rescuers widened their search for dozens of missing people on Friday (Jul 4) after a ferry sank in rough seas on the way to the resort island of Bali, with six bodies recovered.
The ferry carrying at least 65 people, including passengers and crew, was making a 5km crossing from eastern Java island to Bali when it tilted and sank in bad weather late on Wednesday, witnesses and officials said.
As of Friday evening, 30 people were still missing after 29 were plucked from the water to safety were rescued from the water on Thursday, with no more survivors found since, Rama Samtama Putra, police chief of Banyuwangi in East Java, where the boat departed, told AFP.
Rescuers said one of the six found dead was a three-year-old boy.
Tearful survivors described their horror when the ship went down, including one man who lost his wife.
“I was joking around with my wife. And then … the ferry tilted. The accident was very fast,” Febriani, who like many Indonesians has one name, told AFP late on Thursday.
“I resigned my fate … and asked God to save my wife. It turned out … my wife died but I survived,” said the 27-year-old, welling up with tears.
“I jumped with my wife. I managed to get back up but my wife slipped away.”
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