JEMBRANA (Bali), July 13 — A fisherman in Bali found a body of woman yesterday, believed to be one of 18 victims still missing at sea after the ferry KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank in Indonesia’s Bali Strait on July 2, reported ANTARA News Agency.
The deceased was recovered by Adi Presetyo from the waters about four kilometers away from the shore of Pengambengan Village, Negara Subdistrict, Jembrana District, Bali, a local government official said.
Jembrana Disaster Mitigation Agency acting head I Putu Agus Artana Putra said the rescue team then evacuated the deceased to a command post in Pabuahan Hamlet, Banyubiru Village, Negara Subdistrict.
"The recovered body had been transported to the Blambangan Public Hospital in Banyuwangi District, East Java, for identification," he said.
Putra added that the Pabuahan fishermen had recovered several bodies of the sunken vessel’s passengers while out fishing in the aftermath of the ferry mishap.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) extended the search operation for humanitarian reasons from yesterday to tomorrow. This followed an earlier three-day extension, which ended on Friday (July 11).
Earlier, the agency's Search and Rescue Operations and Preparedness deputy Ribut Eko Suyanto said that his office will reevaluate whether another extension of the search period is necessary later.
As of Friday evening, the 10th day of search operations, the death toll from the ferry mishap stood at 17, with 30 survivors and 18 people still missing.
The KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya 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 10.56pm local time on July 2.
The vessel sank en route to Gilimanuk Port in Bali at approximately 11.35pm local time on the same day.
In response to the tragedy, President Prabowo Subianto has directed all relevant government agencies to leave no stone unturned in rescuing the remaining passengers and crew of the ill-fated ferry.
— Bernama
