Thursday, July 3

At least 4 people are dead and over 30 others were killed after a ferry sank off the coast of the Indonesian island of Bali, a major tourism hotspot that sees over 6.3 million tourists per year.

The boat, named the KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya, had 53 passengers and 12 crewmembers onboard, along with 22 vehicles that were being transported to Bali. The ferry left the Ketapang port in the East Javan town of Banyuwangi around 11 pm at night, heading into choppy seas. It was destined for Bali's Gilimanuk port, which was just a 30-mile journey that usually takes around an hour.

Nevertheless, just 20 minutes into the journey, a mayday call came from the ship, and it sank around 15 minutes later. Officials reported that the ship was not able to communicate through radio at first, but by the time it finally established contact, it was already bound to sink.

Four bodies have been recovered from the water so far, and dozens of others are still missing. Indonesian authorities have deployed several boats and a helicopter to assist with the search, and local fishermen have also volunteered to help. Initial weather conditions, which kicked up large waves of over six feet, led to poor searching conditions during the night, but improving conditions are aiding in the rescue mission, and at least 31 people have been rescued so far.

Authorities are still investigating the exact cause of the sinking, but many have attributed it to the stormy weather conditions at the time.

Unfortunately, incidents like this are common in Indonesia, a massive archipelago of over 17,500 islands. These islands vary in size, but due to their separation by water, ferries are a common way to get from place to place. However, a lack of rules and regulations allows many companies to get away with inadequate life-saving equipment and skipping over certain precautions, which often leads to accidents.

Fact of the Day (The Fact Site): In English, leaving a party without telling anyone is called a "French Exit." In French, it’s called a "partir à l’anglaise," which means "to leave like the English."

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): It’s not about being perfect. It’s about finding the beauty in your imperfections. (Bella Hadid)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Galumph (verb, guh-LUMF) - To galumph is to move in a loud and clumsy way.

In a Sentence: I could hear them galumphing around in the attic in search of old family photo albums.