Indonesian ferry tragedy death toll now at 10 following recovery of additional bodies

Officials in Indonesia reported that 10 people are now confirmed to have died as a result of a ferry sinking incident that occurred off Bali province earlier this month.

At a press conference on Wednesday, July 9, Rear Admiral Ribut Eko Suyatno, Deputy Chief of Operations for national search and rescue (SAR) agency Basarnas, confirmed the recovery of the bodies of two people who perished after the Ro-Pax ferry Tunu Pratama Jaya sank off Bali.

Four people were initially confirmed dead while another 38 were reported missing within hours of the incident.

Additional bodies were recovered in the days that followed. This number also includes two victims whose bodies were found on Sunday, July 6, which raised the death toll at the time to eight.

Suyatno said that the SAR operation will continue for another three days and the search area will be expanded beyond its present coverage of 40 kilometres in the waters off Bali.

Twenty-five people who were on board the ferry at the time of the incident are still missing.

It is not yet confirmed whether the recently recovered bodies include that of the ferry's captain, whom Indonesian Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi had earlier said was also among those who have gone missing.