A Melbourne couple who were rescued from a sinking Bali speedboat have described the harrowing ordeal which derailed their romantic getaway.
The Kebo Iwa Express was about 25 minutes into its trip on Tuesday when it began to sink two nautical miles from Sanur, according to Maruti Group Fast Boats.
Dino Medina Kaist and Carolina Castro said from the beginning of the trip they felt the boat was travelling too quickly and went to put on life jackets.
Then Mr Kaist said "water started leaking".
"There was a little bit … [then] more and more," he told the ABC.
The couple, who got engaged on New Year's Eve in Nusa Penida, said they were still shaken and the ordeal was hard to talk about.
Mr Kaist claimed they were instructed not to panic and that it was not necessary to wear a life jacket, even as water began to enter the vessel.
"Everyone was putting on life jackets anyway," he said.
As water started to leak into the boat, Ms Castro said she began to have a panic attack.
The couple went to the top of the boat as it sank and were rescued by nearby ship crews.
Company rejects suggestions life jackets were not encouraged
Manager of Maruti Group Fast Boats, the speedboat operator, Kadek Ariana, strongly denied the couple's claim that passengers were told life jackets were not necessary, saying passengers were urged by crew to put them on.
He said the accident was caused by tree branches and other objects that had washed into the sea because of strong weather the day before.
“We deeply regret and sorry that this was happened, really terrible for us and frustrating,” Mr Ariana told the ABC.
He said he had been operating the fast boat tour for nearly 11 years.
"We did everything according to our safety procedure and the anchor is always securely tied," he said.
Among the 34 passengers were tourists from Australia, Russia, Ukraine and India, he said.
Mr Kaist and Ms Castro, originally from Argentina, have been international students in Australia since 2018 and are due to return to Melbourne on January 6.
The couple are unsure how to return without their personal belongings, including Ms Castro's passport, which was lost at sea.
Footage circulated on social media shortly after the incident showed people in the choppy sea wearing life jackets while half of the boat was already underwater near the Port of Sanur.
Bali's National Search and Rescue agency head Gede Darmada said all passengers and crew had been rescued by four ships in the area.
During the rescue, the weather was "extreme" with strong winds, the agency said.
