Indonesian search and rescue teams launched an operation in the Java Sea after passenger vessel Virgo Transport 8 lost contact carrying 243 people.
Authorities confirmed that 103 people have been evacuated from the vessel, while one casualty has been reported so far.
The ship lost contact early Sunday at around 2 am after encountering adverse weather en route from Surabaya, East Java, to South Kalimantan.
Indonesian rescuers launched a search on Sunday after authorities lost contact with Virgo Transport 8, a passenger ship carrying 243 people in the Java Sea. Some 103 people were evacuated from the vessel and one died, a search and rescue agency official reported to Reuters.
The ship was travelling from East Java to South Kalimantan province. Authorities were still trying to account for everyone on board.
The incident fits a broader pattern of marine accidents in Indonesia, where ferries are a crucial, low-cost way to move across the archipelago.
Voyage And Contact Loss
Virgo Transport 8 left Surabaya in East Java on Saturday for South Kalimantan province. The passenger and cargo ship later hit bad weather and lost touch with its shipping company early on Sunday, Livemint reported.
“The ship’s operator reported the incident to authorities after receiving information that the vessel had encountered bad weather,” I Putu Sudayana, who heads the Search and Rescue Office, said in a video briefing.
The Search and Rescue Office in Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, on Borneo island, received the alert about two hours after contact was lost at around 2 am on Sunday.
Search Efforts Underway
The search was focused on the Java Sea. The vessel’s last position was detected in waters about 150 kilometres (90 miles) from Banjarmasin pier, its destination, Sudayana said.
Sudayana said there were no immediate reports of casualties at that stage. He added that authorities were mobilising all available personnel and assets because the vessel was carrying a large number of passengers and crew.
“We have received the report regarding the loss of contact with the Virgo Transport 8 vessel and have immediately deployed personnel and KN SAR Laksmana 241 to the estimated last known position,” Sudayana told AFP.
“Considering the relatively large number of passengers and crew on board, we are optimising coordination with all relevant elements to accelerate the search process and ensure the safety of all passengers and crew,” Sudayana said.
He said the agency was coordinating with maritime authorities and other relevant agencies during the search, while closely monitoring weather conditions in the area.
Indonesia’s Maritime Risks
Marine accidents are a regular occurrence in Indonesia. The country is an archipelago of 17,000 islands and relies heavily on ferries, with sea routes more affordable and easier to access than air travel.
Safety standards are not always rigorously enforced, which has helped keep the accident rate relatively high.
On Monday, a speedboat with eight people aboard, including five journalists from local and international news agencies, went missing near Mount Anak Krakatau in Banten province and search crews are still looking for it. The journalists had been sent to cover the volcano’s eruption, which paralysed Jakarta’s main airport and several others.
Last month, a ferry fire killed one person, left five others missing and saw 211 people rescued in the Lombok Strait off Bali. The ferry had been travelling from Bali to Lombok when it ran into trouble in the early hours of August 12.
In July, another ferry carrying more than 70 people sank near Selayar, a small island south of Sulawesi.
