Indonesia intensified its search operation on 14 September for 129 people still missing after the Virgo Transport 8 ferry capsized in rough seas in the Java Sea the previous day. By then, 108 survivors had been rescued and six bodies recovered.
At least 108 people have been rescued and six bodies recovered after the vessel overturned in the waters off Masalembo, about 148 km from Banjarmasin, the capital of South Kalimantan province.
Survivors were taken to a temporary medical post at Trisakti Port in Banjarmasin. Some said passengers rushed to the upper deck and scrambled for life jackets as the ferry began to list.
According to its manifest, the ferry was carrying 243 people: 213 passengers and 30 crew, as well as 89 vehicles. The passenger breakdown included 59 adult passengers, one child, and 126 drivers and vehicle assistants, plus 27 ship‑related workers. The vessel lost contact at about 2 a.m. local time on Sunday after its captain reported waves of up to 3 metres and a heavy list to starboard; a passing helicopter later confirmed it had capsized. Authorities received a distress call around two hours after contact was lost.
The 119-metre roll-on/roll-off ferry was built in Japan in 1987 and sold to Indonesia last year. It left Surabaya in East Java on Saturday afternoon bound for Banjarmasin, but encountered severe weather overnight. The cause of the capsizing, whether weather-related, technical failure or human error, remains under investigation as families gathered at ports in Surabaya and Banjarmasin awaiting news of missing relatives.
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