A passenger ferry carrying more than 240 people overturned and sank in the Java Sea on Sunday, leaving about 130 passengers and crew missing, Indonesian rescuers said. At least 107 people were rescued and the bodies of six passengers were recovered as the search expanded in waters around the vessel’s last known position.
The ferry, named Virgo Transport 8, was traveling from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan province. The captain had reported rough seas with waves up to 10 feet before issuing a distress message, saying the ship was listing. Authorities received a report two hours after contact was lost at about 2 a.m. Sunday.
Rescue teams deployed four vessels, a navy ship, and a helicopter. By Sunday afternoon, 107 people had been rescued and six bodies recovered. The ship’s manifest listed 243 people—213 passengers and 30 crew members—though passenger counts often differ from the manifest.
Hundreds of relatives gathered at Banjarmasin’s Trisakti port, anxiously checking passenger manifests and rescue lists as authorities continued searching for survivors. A woman who goes by the single name Bunga said she was shocked when she saw her uncle’s name on the passenger list, then relieved when officials told her he had been rescued. Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands where ferries are a common method of travel, has a history of maritime disasters often blamed on weak safety enforcement. Recent incidents include a Bali ferry fire that rescued 211 people, a Mutiara Sentosa 2 fire that left five dead, and a Philippine ferry fire that killed 76 and left others missing.
