---
title: "Four dead, 38 missing after ferry sinks near Bali, agency says"
description: "Four people died, 38 were missing and 23 survived after a ferry carrying 65 people sank near the Indonesian island of Bali, the country's Search and Rescue agency said on Thursday."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-07-03-four-dead-38-missing-after-ferry-sinks-near-bali-agency-says/"
published: "2025-07-03T04:34:07"
updated: "2025-07-03T04:34:09"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 132
---

# Four dead, 38 missing after ferry sinks near Bali, agency says

> Four people died, 38 were missing and 23 survived after a ferry carrying 65 people sank near the Indonesian island of Bali, the country's Search and Rescue agency said on Thursday.

By Reuters · Published 3 July 2025, 06:34 SAST · Updated 3 July 2025, 06:34 SAST

## Key points
- In a tragic twist of fate, the KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya took a dive just half an hour into its voyage from East Java to Bali, leaving 53 passengers and 12 crew members to ponder the perils of Indonesia's notoriously overloaded ferries amid rough seas and lax safety standards.
- The KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank shortly after departing Banyuwangi port in East Java, en route to Bali.
- The vessel was carrying 53 passengers, 12 crew members, and 22 vehicles at the time of the incident.
- Search efforts for survivors are ongoing but are hindered by challenging weather conditions.
- Indonesia's ferry accidents are frequent due to lax safety regulations, with a recent incident in Sulawesi claiming 15 lives.

## Content

he KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank almost half an hour after leaving East Java province's Banyuwangi port on its way to Bali late on Wednesday, the agency said on Thursday.

The boat was carrying 53 passengers and 12 crew members, as well as 22 vehicles, the agency said.

A search for the missing is underway although it is being hampered by strong currents and winds, the agency added.

Ferries are a common mode of transport in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, and accidents are common as lax safety standards often allow vessels to be overloaded without adequate life-saving equipment.

A small ferry capsized in 2023 near Indonesia's Sulawesi island, killing at least 15 people.

(Reporting by Stanley Widianto in Jakarta and Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates)