By Swift Reporter
Indonesian search and rescue teams have launched a major operation in the Java Sea after losing contact with a passenger vessel carrying 243 people while travelling from East Java to South Kalimantan.
The vessel, Virgo Transport 8, lost communication at around 2 a.m. local time on Sunday after reportedly encountering bad weather, raising concern over the safety of everyone on board.
The Search and Rescue Office in Banjarmasin, the capital of South Kalimantan, said it received notification about two hours after contact with the vessel was lost.
The ferry had departed from Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, at about 10:13 a.m. on Saturday, heading towards Banjarmasin.
I Putu Sudayana, head of the Search and Rescue Office, said the ship’s operator, PT Virgo Yoel Rihi, alerted authorities after learning that the vessel had run into difficult weather conditions.
The last known location of the ferry was in the Java Sea, approximately 148 kilometres from a pier in Banjarmasin.
Rescue teams were immediately dispatched from the Basirih Search and Rescue pier in Banjarmasin, with a rescue vessel heading towards the area where the ferry was last located.
Authorities have since mobilised additional personnel and equipment because of the large number of passengers involved. Maritime authorities and other agencies are also working alongside the search team while monitoring weather conditions in the area.
Latest reports indicate that one person has died while 102 people have been rescued, with search and rescue operations continuing for those still unaccounted for.
Authorities have not yet released full details on what happened to the vessel or confirmed the condition and whereabouts of all remaining passengers as the operation continues.
The search is expected to remain focused on the ferry’s last known position and surrounding waters as rescue teams work to locate additional survivors.
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