Indonesian rescuers searched on Sunday for 140 missing passengers. The passenger ship went missing in the Java Sea. Officials evacuated 103 other people from the vessel. One of those evacuated later died, an official said.
The Virgo Transport 8 Passenger Ship Set Sail Before Losing Contact
The Virgo Transport 8 ship set sail on Saturday. It departed from the East Java city of Surabaya. The ship headed to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan. It lost contact before reaching its destination.
Indonesian Rescuers Evacuate 103 People from the Java Sea
I Putu Sudayana heads the agency’s Banjarmasin office. He said 103 people were evacuated using different ships. Some survivors would be taken to an East Java port. Rescuers deployed a team, ships and a helicopter. They searched toward the vessel’s last known position.
The captain reported rough seas with waves up to 3 meters. The ship was listing before issuing a distress message. Authorities later received information indicating the vessel had overturned. Search teams rescued 102 people and recovered one body. Three ships participated in the evacuation effort on Sunday.
TB Mauhaw IX evacuated 16 people, with 15 surviving. TB TCP evacuated 38 people from the water. MV Haida evacuated 49 people from the area.
Jakarta, Indonesia Relies Heavily on Ferries for Transportation
Indonesia is an archipelago of 17,000 islands. The nation relies heavily on ferries as key transportation. Sea routes are more affordable and available than air travel. However, safety standards are not always rigorously enforced. This results in a relatively high accident rate.
The Japanese-built Virgo Transport 8 carries both passengers and vehicles. The ship’s last known position was near Banjarmasin. It was approximately 148 kilometers from a pier there.
Sudayana said the agency was working with maritime authorities. They monitored weather conditions in the area closely.
“We are optimizing all available resources in this operation,” Putu said.
“The safety of victims is the top priority in every SAR operation.”
