JAKARTA: Indonesian rescuers were searching on Sunday for 140 people after a passenger ship sank in the Java Sea, with 103 others evacuated and one of them reported dead, according to a search and rescue agency official.
The Virgo Transport 8, carrying 243 people, lost contact early on Sunday while sailing from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, amid bad weather, the agency said.
Ferry with 243 people goes missing off the coast of Indonesia
The passenger vessel Virgo Transport 8 went missing in the Java Sea, with 243 people on board.
Contact with the ship was lost early this morning, according to Indonesia’s search and rescue agency.
Preliminary… pic.twitter.com/xIEKmaNT8r
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) September 13, 2026
The ship had departed Surabaya on Saturday and was later confirmed to have sunk, although authorities did not immediately provide details on the cause of the accident.
I Putu Sudayana, head of the agency’s Banjarmasin office, said 103 people had been evacuated by different ships, with some survivors expected to be taken to a port in East Java.
Rescuers deployed boats and a helicopter to the ship’s last known location as the search operation continued, Sudayana said.
READ ALSO: Turkish Cargo Ship Sinks off Istanbul, 10 Crew Members Missing
Indonesia, an archipelago of about 17,000 islands, relies heavily on ferries and other sea transport, particularly because maritime travel is generally more affordable and accessible than air travel.
However, maritime safety remains a concern, with safety regulations and standards not always rigorously enforced, contributing to a relatively high rate of accidents.
Last month, an Indonesian ferry caught fire at sea, killing five people, while another 41 remained missing after reportedly jumping overboard.
