A rescuer and a senior police officer confirmed that six people were killed when a passenger ship carrying dozens of people went down in waters off the Indonesian island of Bali on Tuesday, and that an evacuation was underway.
The ship Yunicee, carrying 41 passengers and 15 crew members, sank before reaching its destination of Gilimanuk seaport in Bali on Tuesday evening, according to I Wayan Suyatna, head of Operation Affairs of the Search and Rescue Office in East Java Province, who spoke to Xinhua by phone.
“We got information about the accident at 7:06 p.m. local time and our personnel immediately headed to the scene,” he said, citing that the ship departed from Ketapang seaport in nearby East Java province.
Unfavorable weather conditions were believed to be the cause of the accident. “The waves were very high. The weather was very bad during the accident in the evening,” said Suyatna.
“Six people were killed, including three males and three females,” head of the Jembrana district police in Gilimanuk, Bali, I Ketut Gede Adi Wibawa, told Xinhua via phone.
According to the police officer, the victims’ bodies were taken to a nearby health clinic.
According to Ketut, 44 people have been safely rescued so far, with six still missing.
