Jakarta: Indonesian rescue teams mounted a search operation on Sunday after a passenger ferry with more than 240 people on board lost all communication in the Java Sea while navigating through severe weather, authorities said, Reuters reported.
The vessel, identified as Virgo Transport 8, was sailing from Surabaya — the capital of East Java and Indonesia’s second-largest city — toward Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo when it stopped transmitting signals.
The Search and Rescue Office in Banjarmasin said it was alerted roughly two hours after contact was lost at about 2 a.m. local time on Sunday.
“The ship’s operator reported the incident to authorities after receiving information that the vessel had encountered bad weather,” said I Putu Sudayana, head of the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office, in a video briefing.
According to early reports, the ferry’s last known position placed it around 148 kilometers (92 miles) from the Basirih SAR pier in Banjarmasin, in open waters of the Java Sea. The ship’s manifest indicated it was carrying 241 passengers, though the national search and rescue agency later put the total number of people on board at 243.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths, and the vessel’s exact condition remained unclear.
The ferry’s operator, PT Virgo Yoel Rihi, notified authorities of the communications breakdown and confirmed the ship had departed Surabaya on Saturday at 10:13 a.m. local time.
In response, a rescue team was sent to the Basirih pier in Banjarmasin, and a search vessel was dispatched toward the Virgo Transport 8’s estimated last location.
Sudayana, who is overseeing the operation, said all available personnel and equipment were being deployed given the large number of passengers and crew believed to be on the missing ship.
He added that the agency was working in coordination with maritime authorities and other relevant bodies, while closely tracking weather conditions across the search area.