One dead, 102 rescued after Indonesian ferry goes missing in Java Sea

What the report says

Rescuers in Indonesia were searching on Sunday for passengers and crew after the Virgo Transport 8 ferry sank in the Java Sea, according to Al Jazeera’s report based on AFP, AP and Reuters. The vessel had 243 people on board and lost contact with its operator in the early hours of Sunday after leaving Surabaya on Java for Banjarmasin on Borneo.

Authorities said 103 people had been evacuated, and one of those rescued later died. That left 140 people still unaccounted for as search teams continued operations in rough seas. The ferry’s last known position was about 81 nautical miles, or 150 kilometres, from Banjarmasin, and rescue officials said high waves were complicating efforts.

Al Jazeera reported that ships and a helicopter were deployed to the area. The local search and rescue chief said conditions were dangerous even for large vessels, underscoring the difficulty of reaching survivors quickly. The incident adds to recent ferry safety concerns in Indonesia, an archipelago where maritime transport is widely used and weather can quickly affect travel conditions.

The report said the sinking comes after other recent ferry accidents in Indonesian waters, including a fire near Bali and a separate sinking near Sulawesi, which provides additional context for the scale of the challenge facing rescue authorities.