Nine people died and three others are still missing after a ferry sank off the Badung strait in Indonesia's Bali province on Wednesday, the Jakarta Post reported on Thursday, Xinhua reported.
The ferry sank at 2:30 PM local time (0830 GMT) and was carrying 27 passengers and two crew members. The ship belonged to Dewa Nyoman Kawi left Kusamba Port in Kkungkung regency and was heading to Nusa Penida island, southeastern Bali.
The police have yet to name the cause of the accident, but said that the boat was probably struck by bad weather.
"We had reports that there were big waves and strong winds when the accident occurred," said the chief of Bali's search and rescue (SAR) team Ketut Parwa.
Klungkung police officers said that there was also a possibility the ferry was overloaded as it was carrying sand and cement.
Eyewitnesses said that the ship cruised for five miles from the port before it suddenly tipped over and sank. The SAR team was still searching for missing bodies until late Wednesday.
"We estimate there still three people missing and are still searching for them," said Ketut.
Officials from Klungkung Hospital have identified eight of nine fatalities and three of the eight victims have been identified by their families. Two crew members and 15 passengers are currently being treated at the hospital.
As the world's largest archipelago, Indonesia relies heavily on ferry services to connect main islands in the area. However accidents are common and are mostly due to poor infrastructure and crew incompetence, especially by captains who operate overloaded ferries.
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