A ferry capsized in rough weather in Indonesia’s Java Sea on Sunday, with approximately 130 passengers and crew members reported missing, according to rescuers. Around 107 individuals were successfully rescued, and the bodies of six passengers were recovered as search efforts intensified in the vicinity of the vessel’s last known location.
The ferry, carrying over 240 people, was en route from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan province on Borneo Island, as confirmed by officials.
The captain of the ferry had alerted about severe sea conditions with waves reaching up to three meters before issuing a distress signal, mentioning the ship was tilting, stated I Putu Sudayana, the head of the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office. Subsequently, authorities received information indicating the vessel had overturned.
Following the loss of contact with the Virgo Transport 8 at approximately 2 a.m. on Sunday, the rescue agency in Banjarmasin was informed two hours later.
A rescue mission was dispatched to the last known position of the vessel, shared Sudayana, with authorities mobilizing teams supported by eight vessels, including four navy ships, and two helicopters by Sunday afternoon.
Initial reports indicated that the ferry was last located in the Java Sea, approximately 148 kilometers from Banjarmasin. The ship’s manifest listed 243 individuals on board—213 passengers and 30 crew members—along with 89 vehicles, although passenger counts in Indonesia often vary from the official manifest.
Sudayana, overseeing the search efforts, revealed that 107 people had been rescued, and six bodies were retrieved by Sunday afternoon, with ongoing operations.
The 119-meter-long Virgo Transport 8 ferry, constructed in Japan in 1987, was observed floating upside down but not sunk, according to Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi. Search activities were concentrated around the overturned ferry, as confirmed by Purwagandhi.
Global Affairs confirmed that there were no reports of Canadians being impacted by the incident.
Hundreds of distressed relatives gathered at a command center in Banjarmasin’s Trisakti port, anxiously awaiting updates on family members believed to have been on board the ferry. Many scrutinized passenger lists and rescue reports while the search for survivors continued.
Indonesia, with its vast archipelago of over 17,000 islands, heavily relies on ferries for transportation, where accidents are frequent due to inadequate safety measures.
Just recently, at least 211 individuals were rescued from an Indonesian ferry that caught fire in rough seas near Bali, with one fatality and four individuals still missing. This incident occurred shortly after another Indonesian ferry, the Mutiara Sentosa 2, caught fire off Java, resulting in at least five fatalities.
The tragic event on Sunday follows a ferry fire in the Philippines that claimed the lives of at least 76 people, with 10 others still unaccounted for, just four days prior.
