On Sunday, Indonesian rescue teams were searching for 140 people aboard a passenger vessel that had gone missing in the Java Sea, after 103 survivors were rescued—one of whom later died—according to a search and rescue agency official.
A ferry with over 240 passengers was reported missing after losing contact amid severe weather in the Java Sea early Sunday, the national search and rescue agency reported.
The Virgo Transport 8 departed from Surabaya in East Java on Saturday, bound for Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, before contact was lost.
I Putu Sudayana, head of the agency’s Banjarmasin office, said in a video briefing that 103 individuals had been evacuated via other vessels, with some destined for an East Java port.
Rescue crews dispatched teams, ships, and a helicopter to the vessel’s last known location, though no details were provided about the ship’s fate.
The Banjarmasin-based search and rescue office on Borneo said it was notified two hours after the Virgo Transport 8 went silent, around 2 a.m. on Sunday.
The ship’s operator informed authorities after learning the vessel had run into bad weather, Sudayana said in a video briefing.
Indonesia, comprising roughly 17,000 islands, depends heavily on ferries for transport, as sea routes are more affordable and accessible than air travel.
However, safety standards are not consistently enforced, leading to a comparatively high accident rate.
Updates are forthcoming
