REMBANG (Indonesia), Dec 31: Indonesian fishermen and search and rescue teams found some 177 survivors as bad weather hampered the search on Sunday for some 400 people still missing after a ferry sank off the coast of Java, officials said.

Warships, fishing vessels and helicopters braved continuing bad weather and rough seas to scour the waters off the north coast of Java since the “Senopati Nusantara” (Archipelago Commander) sank late Friday.

Some 177 survivors had been rescued, the official Antara news agency quoted the transport ministry as saying.

But Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa later said 157 had been saved, with 125 already ashore and others being brought in on ships.

He said police helicopters had also spotted three life rafts with around 30 to 40 people on board.

“We have instructed ships nearby to pick them up,” he told ElShinta radio after returning from a flight over the area.

He said the survivors seemed healthy and waved at the helicopters.

But Central Java navy commander Colonel Yan Simamora said they faced a third night on the open sea as high waves and bad weather made it impossible to pick them up by helicopter.

“We did try to evacuate them by air, but the weather did not permit us to do so as the waves were up to four metres high and it was raining heavily,” he told ElShinta.

“We have called off the search for the night and we will continue in the morning,” Simamora said, adding that they had dropped food and drinks to them.

Antara said 66 bodies had been found but Simamora told AFP: “We cannot confirm that number, we don't know where the information comes from.” The “Senopati Nusantara” was en route from Kumai on Borneo island to the Javanese port city of Semarang when it sank. Preliminary investigations showed bad weather was to blame, officials said as they continued to collect data.

“Our investigation so far shows that bad weather coupled with high and heavy waves had caused the ferry to sink,” said Setio Rahardjo, head of the National Committee on Transportation Safety.

“We have not had evidence of a collision or any carelessness by the Senopati,” Antara quoted him as saying.—AFP