Indonesian rescue crews launched a search in the Java Sea on Sunday after a passenger ship carrying more than 240 people lost contact during bad weather. Authorities evacuated 103 people, including one fatality, while ships, a helicopter, and teams mobilized to locate the remaining 140 individuals.
The Missing Voyage of the Virgo Transport 8
The passenger ship carrying more than 240 people had set sail on Saturday at 10:13 a.m. local time from the East Java city of Surabaya, Indonesia’s second largest city in East Java province, en route to the South Kalimantan city of Banjarmasin on Borneo island. PT Virgo Yoel Rihi, the vessel’s operator, reported the loss of contact to authorities after receiving information that the vessel had encountered bad weather.
Contact with the vessel was lost early Sunday morning at about 2 a.m. in the Java Sea. The Search and Rescue Office in the city of Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan said it received a report two hours after contact was lost with the Virgo Transport 8.
“The ship’s operator reported the incident to authorities after receiving information that the vessel had encountered bad weather,”
I Putu Sudayana, who heads the Banjarmasin search and rescue office
Evacuations and Rescue Operations in the Java Sea
As of Sunday, authorities lost contact with a passenger ship carrying more than 240 people, prompting an immediate mobilization of emergency assets. Initial information indicated the vessel’s last known position was in the Java Sea, about 148 kilometers (92 miles) from a pier in Banjarmasin, and the ship’s manifest stated it was carrying 241 passengers.
I Putu Sudayana, the head of the agency’s Banjarmasin office who is coordinating the search, said in a video briefing that 103 people had been evacuated using different ships and some of them would be taken to an East Java port. Rescuers launched a search, deploying a team, ships and a helicopter toward the passenger vessel’s last known position, without stating what happened to the ship. A rescue team was dispatched to Banjarmasin’s Basirih Search and Rescue pier, and a rescue ship was headed to the Virgo Transport 8’s estimated last known position.
Sudayana said authorities were mobilizing all available personnel and assets because the vessel was carrying a large number of passengers and crew. He noted that the agency was coordinating with maritime authorities and other relevant agencies in the search, while closely monitoring weather conditions in the area. one of whom died, a search and rescue agency official said, among those evacuated.
Archipelagic Transit Risks and Ongoing Coordination
Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands, relies heavily on ferries as a key mode of transportation, with sea routes more affordable and readily available than air travel. However, safety standards are not always rigorously enforced, resulting in a relatively high accident rate.
Rescue operations remain active as officials continue to scour the Java Sea to account for all individuals listed on the ship’s manifest.
Читайте также
