An official of Indonesia's Basarnas national search and rescue (SAR) agency have confirmed that another two bodies have been recovered in the wake of the sinking of the ferry Tunu Pratama Jaya off Bali earlier this month.
The recoveries have raised the incident's confirmed death toll to eight. Twenty-seven other people who were also on the ferry were still missing as of Monday, July 7.
The official said the bodies of the seventh and eighth deceased victims were found on Sunday, July 6.
One victim, identified as a 21-year-old male, was recovered by fishermen from the Bali Strait while the other victim, a 51-year-old male, was discovered nearly 10 kilometres from where the ferry sank.
The SAR operation has since expanded to cover a 40-kilometre swath and now also includes vessels of the Indonesian Navy.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has instructed all relevant agencies to exert all possible efforts to locate any trace of the ferry's missing occupants.