Indonesia passenger ship loses contact: Search underway for missing 140 amid bad weather
A ferry in the Java Sea, the Virgo Transport 8, lost contact with over 240 passengers. A search is underway for the missing 140 passengers after 103 were rescued
A ferry in the Java Sea, the Virgo Transport 8, lost contact with over 240 passengers, prompting a large-scale search for approximately 140 missing individuals. While 103 people have been rescued, one fatality has been confirmed. Authorities suspect bad weather contributed to the incident, which has resulted in challenging search conditions due to high waves, requiring extensive efforts from multiple Indonesian agencies.
A ferry in the Java Sea, the Virgo Transport 8, lost contact with over 240 passengers, prompting a large-scale search for approximately 140 missing individuals. While 103 people have been rescued, one fatality has been confirmed. Authorities suspect bad weather contributed to the incident, which has resulted in challenging search conditions due to high waves, requiring extensive efforts from multiple Indonesian agencies.
A ferry in the Java Sea, the Virgo Transport 8, lost contact with over 240 passengers, prompting a large-scale search for approximately 140 missing individuals. While 103 people have been rescued, one fatality has been confirmed. Authorities suspect bad weather contributed to the incident, which has resulted in challenging search conditions due to high waves, requiring extensive efforts from multiple Indonesian agencies.
Indonesian officials are searching for around 140 people after they lost contact with a ferry carrying more than 240 passengers in the Java Sea on Sunday
Local authorities said 103 people had been rescued, and one person had died.
Putu Sudayana, head of the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office, told reporters they were searching for the victims to the fullest extent.
“There were passengers who...had already been successfully evacuated by the units at the scene. We can inform you that the total number of evacuated passengers is 103 people," he said.
140 persons are still missing.
About 16 persons were evacuated from the TB Mahau 9. From this group, one person was declared dead.
"We plan to evacuate 38 passengers from TB TCP and 49 passengers from MT AIDA to Trisakti Port, Banjarmasin," he added.
The ship, Virgo Transport 8, was travelling from Indonesia's second-largest city of Surabaya to Banjarmasin, the capital of South Kalimantan province, when it lost contact. The ferry carried 240 passengers and departed around 10:13 am local time.
"At the time of this statement, the ship cannot be contacted, and its whereabouts are unknown," the agency said.
The vessel reportedly experienced a communication failure. Its last known position was about 148 kilometres from a pier.
“The ship’s operator reported the incident to authorities after receiving information that the vessel had encountered bad weather,” Sudayana said.
An aerial search is also being conducted to locate the rest of the victims and the ship. Some of the searches were hampered by large waves and rough sea conditions.
Wave heights were recorded at 2.5 meters during the rescue. Sudayana said the conditions were risky for the ships being used in the rescue, owned by the Basarnas, the national search and rescue agency of the country.
"We will then prioritise other, larger vessels for on-the-ground search efforts. So, we're doing our utmost, and we'll do whatever it takes to carry out this SAR operation," he said.
The rescue operation is being conducted by the Basarnas, the Indonesian Navy, the Navigation District, KSOP, Pelindo, and other related authorities.