The death toll from a ferry disaster in Indonesia has risen to 66, while rescuers continued searching Monday for 69 people still missing, authorities said.
Divers entered the wreckage for the 16th consecutive day, but the operation has been slowed by fuel inside the vessel, unstable sections of the structure and sharp debris, according to Indonesian search and rescue officials.
The Vargo Transport 8 ferry sank on September 13 while travelling from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan amid bad weather. The vessel was carrying 243 people, including 30 crew members.
Senior search and rescue official Hardiansyah Putra said divers were searching through unstable sections of the wreck, where some of the missing passengers were believed to remain inside cabins. Divers have been authorised to descend to a maximum depth of 27 metres.
Several bodies recovered from the ferry were expected to be transported by helicopter on Monday, said senior rescue official I Putu Sudayana.
Dozens of divers are searching inside the 4,277-tonne vessel, which is lying on its side. Officials said the unstable structure, sharp objects, dense gases and leaking fuel posed significant risks to the rescue teams.
The difficult conditions have slowed the recovery operation, increasing anxiety among relatives of those still missing.
According to the latest figures from the search and rescue agency, 66 people have died, 108 have been rescued alive and 69 remain missing.
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