, went down in the Bali Strait shortly after departing from the port of Ketapang in Banyuwangi, East Java, late Wednesday night.

According to the Surabaya search and rescue agency, the ferry sank about 25 minutes after setting sail for Gilimanuk port in northern Bali.

“The ferry's manifest data totalled 53 passengers and 12 passenger crews,” the agency confirmed.

The survivors reportedly escaped using one of the ferry’s lifeboats and were found adrift. It is not yet clear whether any foreign nationals were on board at the time of the sinking.

The Java-Bali ferry route, which takes about an hour, is widely used by commercial and private vehicles moving between the islands.

“The ferry was also transporting 22 vehicles, including 14 trucks,” AFP quoted the agency as saying.

Search operations are ongoing, with inflatable rescue boats deployed soon after the incident and a larger vessel dispatched later from Surabaya. Authorities have not specified the cause of the accident.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago of around 17,000 islands, has a long history of maritime accidents attributed to lax safety standards and rough sea conditions. Earlier this year in March, a boat capsized off Bali killing an Australian woman. In 2018, more than 150 people died when a ferry sank in Lake Toba, Sumatra.

(With AFP inputs)