At least four people died and almost 40 remain missing this Thursday after a ferry sank the previous night near the Indonesian tourist island of Bali, local authorities said.

Rescue teams managed to save 23 people and continue the search for the rest of the passengers and crew. were heading from Java's main island to the popular Southeast Asian holiday destination.

Officer Rama Samtama Putra, police chief in Banyuwangi, the town from which the boat departed in East Java, told AFP of a provisional toll of 23 people rescued and four dead.

According to local rescue services, the ferry's boarding list included a total of 53 passengers and 12 crew members, although they have not ruled out the possibility of more people on the ship.

The boat sank for reasons that are still unknown shortly before midnight, about 25 minutes after setting sail from Banyuwangi.

Rescue teams deployed inflatable boats and a larger vessel to the area to try to find possible survivors or victims of the shipwreck.

Four of the rescued people were found early Thursday in one of the ferry's lifeboats, which was also carrying 22 vehicles.

This ferry from Java to Bali is often used by people crossing between the two islands by car. It is not yet known if there were any foreigners on the boat.

Shipping accidents occur frequently in this vast archipelago of some 17,000 islands, partly due to lax safety standards.

In March, a boat capsized off Bali, killing an Australian passenger. In 2018, more than 150 people drowned when a ferry sank in one of the world's deepest lakes off the island of Sumatra.