The official death count from a passenger ship that capsized and sank in Indonesia’s Java Sea rose to 20 on Wednesday, up from the previous 10, with rescuers expecting to find more bodies as the ongoing underwater search widens, officials said.
Authorities said efforts to right the ship were underway, but it remained capsized on Wednesday. Search and rescue operations have been extended until Sunday next week. Coast guard and Navy personnel recovered eight bodies from inside the ship over the past three days, and also found two bodies that had been washed ashore in Central Kalimantan province around 253 km (157.21 miles) from the location of the accident, head of National Rescue Agency Mohammad Syafii said. As of Wednesday, the total death count stood at 20, with 115 people still missing and 108 survivors, he said.
Wednesday’s search would focus on looking for more bodies in the ship’s cabins, said I Putu Sudayana, head of the Banjarmasin rescue agency.
