By New Straits Times
BANYUWANGI (East Java): Indonesian rescuers have located the wreckage of the Tunu Pratama Jaya ferry, which capsized in the Bali Strait on July 2.
Indonesian news agency Antara reported that the vessel was discovered lying upside down on the seabed by an underwater search team on Saturday.
Seventeen people are still missing.
According to the National Search and Rescue Agency (Bansarnas) deputy for Search and Rescue Operations and Preparedness, Ribut Eko Suyatno, visual images of the sunken ferry were also captured during the underwater mission.
The findings will be formally reported to Basarnas and the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation.
On Saturday, a separate land-based team recovered another victim — a woman — whose body was found by a fisherman around 4km offshore near Pengambengan Village in Bali's Jembrana district.
Banyuwangi police chief Senior Commissioner Rama Samtama Putra, who led the land search effort, confirmed the body had been handed over to the local authorities for identification.
The ferry, carrying 53 passengers, 12 crew members, and 22 vehicles, departed Ketapang Port in East Java at 10.56pm and capsized en route to Gilimanuk Port in Bali approximately 40 minutes later.
As of Saturday evening, the search and rescue team had confirmed 18 deaths, with 30 people rescued and 17 still unaccounted for.
Basarnas has since extended the search operation until today, citing humanitarian considerations, after an earlier three-day extension ended on July 11.
Suyatno said the agency would reassess the situation before deciding on any further extensions.
Source : indonesian-rescuers-locate-wreck-capsized-ferry-search-continues