Rescuers Search for Missing Passengers After Virgo Transport 8 Sinks in Java Sea

Rescuers in Indonesia searched on Sunday for more than 100 people after the Virgo Transport 8 passenger ship sank in the Java Sea, with 115 others evacuated and one person reported dead by authorities.

“Rescuers are searching for more than 100 people from an Indonesian passenger ship that sank in the Java Sea”

Al Jazeera

The ship, carrying 243 people including 30 crew members, lost contact with its operator in the early hours of Sunday during bad weather, and it had sailed from Surabaya on the Indonesian island of Java on Saturday heading for Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan on Borneo.

@globaltimesnews

Indonesia’s search-and-rescue agency said evacuees were transported using different ships and some would be taken to an East Java port, while Reuters reported that six people had died after rescuers found 107 people safe and 130 others remained missing.

I Putu Sudayana, head of the local search-and-rescue office in Banjarmasin, said waves as high as 2.5 metres hampered the operation, and Reuters reported that the ship set sail from Surabaya to Banjarmasin before losing contact.

BBC said the ferry was last reported to be about 150km south of Banjarmasin around 02:00 local time on Sunday, after authorities received the initial distress report at 04:10 from the vessel’s operator PT Virgo.

At a press conference on Sunday, Indonesia’s transport minister Dudy Purwagandhi said the ship had flipped and had not sunk, citing observations from the crew of a helicopter, while the search-and-rescue agency earlier said the ship had sunk.

BBC reported that a joint task force involving Indonesia's search and rescue agency, navy, maritime police and other parties was set up, and it said 280 personnel took part in the rescue operation.

ABC News

In Banjarmasin, residents and relatives waited for information at the Trisakti Port area, where Rusmilawati went to seek information about eight relatives who were passengers and said, "They flew there initially, but for the return journey they wanted to try travelling by ship,".

Another relative, Fredy, told BBC that he had still not received any information about his sibling’s whereabouts, after saying he spoke two days ago when the ship was docked in Surabaya.

The BBC also quoted a WhatsApp status update from a relative writing, "The waves are really frightening tonight. Or is this just what it's normally like travelling by ship, rocking and crashing against the waves?"

As the search expanded, different outlets reported different missing and casualty figures for the Virgo Transport 8 incident, with Reuters saying 130 others remained missing after 107 were found safe and six died, while Sky News said 130 people were still missing after at least 107 were rescued.

“At least six people have died and 130 people are still missing”

Sky News

NBC News said about 130 passengers and crew were missing, with at least 107 rescued and six bodies recovered, and it described the captain reporting rough seas with waves up to 3 meters before issuing a distress message.

France 24 reported that hours after contact was lost, about 103 people were located and evacuated, one of whom died, and it said Basarnas stated the ferry stopped transmitting its position around 1:00 local time on Saturday.

The Guardian said Indonesian rescue crews were searching for 140 people after 103 were evacuated and one person died, while the Jerusalem Post reported searching for 140 people after 103 were evacuated and one died.

Across the reporting, the ship’s route remained consistent—Surabaya to Banjarmasin—while the rescue effort continued around the vessel’s last known position in the Java Sea, with ships and a helicopter deployed and authorities monitoring weather conditions.