Rescue teams were racing to find dozens of people missing after a ferry sank in rough seas late on Wednesday on its way to the Indonesian resort island Bali, killing six people.
The KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya, which was carrying 65 people, sank as it sailed to Bali from Indonesia’s main island, Java. All passengers were Indonesian, the transport ministry said.
Teams of rescuers, including from the navy and police, were scouring the waters for the missing but their efforts have been hampered by strong currents and winds. Waves reached up to 2 metres (6.5ft) high overnight.
So far, 35 survivors have been found, the East Java rescue agency said.
Nanang Sigit, the head of Surabaya search and rescue, said: “The condition of this ship is fully submerged, so there is a possibility that there are people inside the ferry. But right now we are focusing on the surface of the water first.”
A helicopter and 15 boats were deployed in the search, assisted by local fishers. Many of those rescued were unconscious after being in the rough waters for hours, Rama Samtama Putra, the chief of the Banyuwangi police force, said.
Survivors were taken to nearby medical facilities including Jembrana regional hospital in Bali.
Supardi, a survivor from the ferry, told Associated Press from hospital: “When the ferry started to tilt, I initially intended to jump into the sea, but the ship quickly sank, so I did not jump any more but sank with the water entering the ship, maybe about 7 metres deep, so I immediately climbed up to the top.”
He and three other people grouped together in the water and used lifejackets to say afloat, he said.
Another survivor, Eka Toniansyah, told reporters at a Bali hospital the ferry “tilted and immediately sank”. His father died in the disaster, he said.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the sinking. Survivors told rescuers there appeared to be a leak in the engine room of the ferry. The Indonesian cabinet secretary, Teddy Indra Wijaya, said the cause was bad weather.
The president of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, who was on a trip to Saudi Arabia, ordered an immediate emergency response, Teddy said in a statement.
The ship, which departed from East Java province’s Banyuwangi port, sent a distress call at 11.20pm on Wednesday and sank 15 minutes later.
The boat was carrying 53 passengers and 12 crew members, as well as 22 vehicles, the national search and rescue agency said. It had a capacity of 67 people and 25 vehicles, according to Indonesia’s transport ministry.
Ferries are a common mode of transport in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands. However, there are longstanding concerns over safety standards, including a lack of safety equipment or the overloading of vessels.
Last month, a ferry capsized off Bali after it was hit by a strong wave. All 89 people onboard were rescued.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse and Associated Press