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Indonesian Passenger Ship Loses Contact in Java Sea, Search Ongoing
Confirmed
In Short: A search and rescue operation is underway for the Virgo Transport 8, which lost contact with its operator while en route from Surabaya to Banjarmasin.
Search and rescue efforts are ongoing for the Virgo Transport 8, a passenger ship that lost contact with its operator while en route from Surabaya to Banjarmasin, carrying 243 people on board.
According to Al Jazeera, 140 people remain unaccounted for after 103 were evacuated, with one person confirmed dead. The ship encountered rough weather and its last known position was about 81 nautical miles from Banjarmasin.
Rescuers are searching the area, where waves as high as 2.5 meters have hampered the operation, as stated by I Putu Sudayana, head of the local search and rescue office in Banjarmasin. Sudayana also noted that even their search and rescue vessel is at great risk due to the conditions.
What's confirmed
- Search and rescue are ongoing after Virgo Transport 8, with 243 people on board, lost contact with its operator.
What's still developing
- It had sailed from Surabaya on the Indonesian island of Java on Saturday and was heading for Banjarmasin, a port city on Borneo.
- Rescuers are searching for the remaining passengers and crew.
- “It is extremely risky for vessels. Even our Basarnas vessel, which is 40 metres [131 feet] long, is at great risk,” Sudayana told reporters, referring to the country’s search and rescue agency.
- In July, a ferry carrying more than 70 people sank near Selayar Island, south of Sulawesi.
- Families of victims gather at Trisakti Port, Banjarmasin One person has died and 102 have been rescued from a stricken Indonesian passenger ferry in the Java Sea, an official said.
- The ship left Surabaya at 10:33 on Saturday and was scheduled to arrive in Banjarmasin on Sunday at 14:00, according to data from two maritime monitoring sites.
- Indonesian authorities reported the Virgo Transport 8 lost contact in the Java Sea while en route from Surabaya to Banjarmasin Rusmilawati, a resident of Banjarmasin, went to the port to seek information about eight relatives who were passengers on the ship.
- They were travelling back to Banjarmasin after visiting the tombs of several Islamic scholars in Java.