PTC News Desk: At least four people were killed and 40 missing after a ferry carrying sank on its way to the Indonesian resort island of Bali, according to local police. The cause of the accident is believed to be bad weather. 

Twenty-three survivors have been rescued as part of the rescue operations, which include nine vessels, according to officials. Rescuers are searching for 38 people after the KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank shortly after leaving East Java’s Banyuwangi port, Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, Badan Nasional Pencarian dan Pertolongan, said on Thursday.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto ordered an immediate emergency response Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said in a statement.

Rama Samtama Putra, Banyuwangi’s police chief, said four people had died and 23 others had been rescued.

Maritime accidents are a regular occurence in Indonesia consisting 17,000 islands owing to lack of safety standards with passengers laden beyond the capacity of the vessel. 

In March, a boat carrying 16 people capsized in rough waters off Bali, killing an Australian woman and injuring at least one other person.

In 2018, more than 150 people drowned when a ferry sank in one of the world’s deepest lakes on Sumatra island.