At least 6 people have died, 107 have been safely rescued, and 130 people remain missing after the Virgo Transport
At least 6 people have died, 107 have been safely rescued, and 130 people remain missing after the Virgo Transport 8 ship overturned in bad weather in the Java Sea, Indonesia.
The ship, the Virgo Transport 8, was carrying 243 people between Java and Borneo when it lost contact, officials said. At least 108 of those on board had been safely evacuated, the National Search and Rescue Agency, BASARNAS, said in an update at 6 p.m. in Jakarta.
Officials with the Directorate General of Sea Transportation said in a statement that they were still working to determine the cause of the incident and whether it had been due to “natural factors, technical factors or human factors.”
Ships and a helicopter have been deployed to search for survivors, officials said.
“We cannot yet determine whether the victims are still inside the vessel or whether they may be some distance away from the location of the vessel,” Dudy Purwagandhi, Indonesia’s transport minister, told reporters during a press conference in Banjarmasin, in Indonesia’s South Kalimantan province, where he was monitoring the ship’s evacuation.
The Search and Rescue Office said it received a report two hours after contact was lost with the ship at around 2am on Sunday.
A rescue team was dispatched to Banjarmasin’s Basirih Search and Rescue pier, and a rescue ship headed to the vessel’s estimated last known position.
By Sunday afternoon, authorities were deploying teams supported by eight vessels, including four navy ships, and two helicopters.
Mr Sudayana said survivors had been transported on different ships and some would be taken to an East Java port.
Meanwhile, hundreds of relatives gathered at a command centre in Banjarmasin’s Trisakti port, awaiting word on family members believed to be on board the ferry.
Many anxiously checked passenger manifests and rescue lists as authorities continued the search for survivors.
