Rescuers searching for 140 people from Indonesia passenger ship, official says
- On Sunday, September 13, 2026, the Virgo Transport 8 lost contact in the Java Sea while traveling from Surabaya to Banjarmasin with 243 people aboard, prompting Indonesian authorities to launch a search operation.
- The vessel's operator, PT Virgo Yoel Rihi, reported the loss of contact after the ship encountered bad weather during its journey; the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office received the report at approximately 2 a.m. Sunday.
- Rescuers deployed a helicopter and ships toward the vessel's last known position in the Java Sea, approximately 148 kilometers from a pier in Banjarmasin, to locate the remaining passengers.
- I Putu Sudayana, head of the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office, confirmed that 103 people were evacuated, though one of the rescued passengers died as the search continued for the remaining crew and passengers.
- This incident underscores persistent safety challenges in Indonesia's maritime sector, where inconsistent enforcement across an archipelago of 17,000 islands has contributed to recurring ferry accidents in recent months.
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Stricken ferry off Indonesia's Java: One dead, 102 rescued
JAKARTA — One person was killed and more than 100 were rescued on Sunday after a ferry sailing between the Indonesian islands of Java and Borneo was hit by bad weather, rescue officials said. The Virgo Transport 8, carrying 243 passengers and crew, had lost contact with its shipping company early on Sunday after departing from Surabaya in East Java. “We can inform you that the total number of evacuated passengers is 103 people,” local search and…
The ferry, which carried 241 passengers, lost contact after crossing an area with bad weather in Borneo; an emergency rescue operation was set up with personnel from the Navy, the Police and the travel company.
A search is underway in the Java Sea for the missing from the Indonesian ferry Virgo Transport 8, which was carrying 243 people. 102 people have been rescued, one is dead, and the cause of the accident is bad weather.
A search and rescue operation was launched on Sunday, and 102 people have already been successfully rescued.
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