Indonesia: 115 of 243 people aboard missing ship in the Java Sea rescued

Indonesian search and rescue teams launched a wide-ranging operation on Sunday to locate the passenger vessel “Virgo Transporth 8,” which lost contact while sailing from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan on the island of Borneo, with 243 people on board.

Latest reports indicated that rescue efforts had resulted in the evacuation of 115 people, while one body had been recovered, as searches continued for the remaining passengers and crew members.

The ship had departed Surabaya on Saturday before contact was lost around 2:00 a.m. local time, after its operator reported encountering bad weather conditions during the voyage. Authorities stated that the last known position of the vessel was in the Java Sea, approximately 148 kilometers from Banjarmasin.

The search and rescue agency in Banjarmasin dispatched teams and the rescue boat “KN SAR Laksmana 241” to the area, in coordination with several maritime and security agencies, as search and rescue operations remain ongoing.

Initial reports on the fate of the ship were conflicting, with local sources suggesting it may have capsized due to adverse weather conditions, while no official confirmation has yet been issued regarding the ship’s location or the cause of the incident.