A massive search operation is underway in Indonesia’s Java Sea after a passenger ferry lost contact during a violent storm early Sunday. The vessel, Virgo Transport 8, was carrying 243 people from the port city of Surabaya to Banjarmasin, on the island of Borneo, when it disappeared from tracking systems roughly 150 km (93 miles) south of its destination.
Officials say the ship’s operator sent out a distress signal hours after losing contact, prompting Indonesia’s search and rescue agency to deploy a joint task force including the navy and maritime police. Helicopters and ships have since scoured the area, and nearby vessels have been asked to watch for survivors. So far, six people have died and 97 have been rescued, though the fate of many passengers remains unknown.
At Trisakti Port, anxious relatives have gathered for news. One woman said eight of her family members were aboard the ferry, returning from a pilgrimage to Islamic heritage sites in Java, and that their last message described terrifying waves battering the ship. Another woman wept with relief after learning her husband had been pulled from the sea alive.
Ferries remain a vital and heavily used mode of transport across Indonesia’s 17,000-island archipelago, but accidents are distressingly common; a separate ferry fire last month killed five people near Madura island.
You can read the BBC’s full original report for more details and updates on the rescue effort.
Source: One dead, 102 rescued from Indonesian ferry that went missing in Java Sea (feeds.bbci.co.uk). English version produced with AI assistance.
Image: Qole Pejorian, BY 2.0 (via Openverse).