One person died and 140 are missing after the ferry Virgo Transport 8 lost contact with its operator in the Java Sea. 103 of the 243 people have been evacuated so far. Indonesian search and rescue teams are actively looking for the missing ones.
The Indonesian flagged vessel sailed from Surabaya in East Java on Saturday afternoon. It was bound for Banjarmasin, the South Kalimantan port city on Borneo. The vessel encountered heavy seas overnight and lost contact with its operator “PT Virgo” at around 2am local time (WITA) on Sunday. Before losing the communication, the ship’s captain had reported that the vessel was tilting.
The ferry was reported to be carrying 57 crew and 59 adult passengers, along with one child.
Rescue ships and a helicopter started search at the vessel’s last known position, about 80 nautical miles (150km) from Banjarmasin. Waves as high as 2.5 metres restricted search and rescue efforts.
Commercial vessels in the area joined the effort as one vessel, “MV
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