Search continues after Indonesian ferry loses contact

Rescuers searched the Java Sea on Sunday after an Indonesian passenger ferry carrying more than 240 people lost contact in bad weather while traveling from Surabaya to Banjarmasin, with officials reporting one death and 102 people rescued.

Indonesia’s search and rescue agency said the Virgo Transport 8 was on its way from Surabaya, the capital of East Java province, to Banjarmasin, a city in South Kalimantan on Borneo island, when authorities lost contact with the vessel at about 2 a.m. local time Sunday.

The BBC reported that one person had died and 102 people had been rescued from the ferry, while the search for remaining passengers was continuing. There were no immediate details on the condition of those rescued or the circumstances of the reported death.

Officials gave slightly different passenger figures. The Search and Rescue Office in Banjarmasin said the ship’s manifest listed 241 passengers, while the BBC, citing Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, reported that 243 people were aboard.

I Putu Sudayana, who heads the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office, said in a video briefing that the ship’s operator reported the incident after learning the vessel had run into rough conditions.

“The ship’s operator reported the incident to authorities after receiving information that the vessel had encountered bad weather,” Sudayana said.

The vessel, operated by PT Virgo Yoel Rihi, departed Surabaya at 10:13 a.m. local time Saturday, according to authorities. Initial information placed its last known position in the Java Sea, about 92 miles, or roughly 150 kilometers, from a pier in Banjarmasin. The BBC reported the ferry was last known to be about 150 kilometers south of Banjarmasin around 2 a.m. Sunday.

After the report came in, a rescue team was sent to Banjarmasin’s Basirih Search and Rescue pier, and a rescue vessel headed toward the ferry’s estimated last position. Search and rescue ships and a helicopter were deployed to the area, the BBC reported.

Authorities also alerted other vessels in that part of the Java Sea to report any signs of passengers. Sudayana said the agency was working with maritime authorities and other relevant agencies and was monitoring weather conditions as the operation continued.

Because the ship was carrying a large number of passengers and crew, Sudayana said authorities were mobilizing all available personnel and assets for the search.

The incident follows another ferry emergency in Indonesia last month, when a vessel caught fire off Madura island, killing five people, the BBC reported. Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, relies heavily on ferries for transportation between islands.