By Rochimawati
EAST JAVA, Indonesia
Rescuers were still searching Wednesday for around 30 people believed to be on board a boat carrying a wedding party that sank off the coast of Indonesia.
At least 12 people lost their lives after the vessel disappeared off the island of Bali on Monday, while the bodies of seven more have been rescued. The vessel's manifesto indicated it was carrying 49 people, including the crew and the groom’s entourage.
Zainal Arifin, Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management chief in East Java, told The Anadolu Agency on Wednesday that "12 passengers had been found dead, seven had survived and the others remains missing."
He added that among the bodies were a shipmaster and a female passenger.
Disaster management crews in Situbondo regency -- south of Sumenep -- have joined rescue teams -- along with a helicopter from the National Search and Rescue Agency -- in search for survivors.
Search coordinator Rudi Prahara said the agency had established a command post at a nearby port.
"We are still coordinating a deeper sweep of the waters,” Rudi told the AA.
Ainun, a resident of East Java’s provincial capital Surabaya who like many Indonesians uses one name, told AA that she was concerned for relatives on board.
"I had four family members who were on the boat, and they are now missing," she said.
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