Indonesia Searches for 129 Missing After Ferry Capsizes

Indonesian rescue teams expanded their search Monday for 129 people still unaccounted for after a passenger ferry overturned in the Java Sea over the weekend. At least six passengers died, and authorities said 107 people have been brought to safety since the vessel capsized.

The Virgo Transport 8 was carrying 240 people when it overturned in bad weather, according to Reuters, which reported that more than 600 rescuers are involved in the operation. The BBC reported the ferry had 213 passengers and 30 crew aboard and put the number of missing at 130. Ships and helicopters have been deployed to the area, and all vessels in that part of the Java Sea have been alerted to report any sign of passengers, the BBC reported.

Contact with the 390-foot ferry was lost after it ran into rough weather. It was last reported about 150 kilometers, or 93 miles, south of Banjarmasin around 2 a.m. Sunday local time, and authorities received the initial distress report at 4:10 a.m., according to the BBC. Families gathered at Trisakti Port in Banjarmasin awaiting word. One relative aboard the ship had posted a WhatsApp status before contact was lost, writing in part, "The waves are really frightening tonight." Among the survivors was Ahmad Supandi, a freight driver rescued by the vessel MV Haida, the BBC reported.

The context

The Virgo Transport 8 departed Surabaya, on the Indonesian island of Java, at 10:33 a.m. Saturday and was scheduled to arrive in Banjarmasin, in South Kalimantan, at 2 p.m. Sunday, according to data from two maritime monitoring sites cited by the BBC. The route crosses the Java Sea between two of Indonesia's major islands.

After the distress report early Sunday, Indonesian authorities set up a joint task force combining the national search and rescue agency, known as Basarnas, the navy, maritime police and other parties. The BBC initially reported 280 personnel and a helicopter taking part; Reuters later put the number of rescuers at more than 600 as the effort intensified into Monday. Some passengers were returning home to Banjarmasin after religious travel in Java. One Banjarmasin resident, Rusmilawati, told BBC Indonesia she was seeking word on eight relatives who had flown to Java but chose the ferry for the return trip.

Why it matters

With 129 people still missing and six confirmed dead, the capsizing could become one of Indonesia's deadliest recent maritime disasters if many of the missing are not found alive. The outcome directly affects hundreds of families now waiting at Trisakti Port and elsewhere for news. The scale of the response, involving the navy, maritime police, Basarnas and civilian vessels, reflects how quickly the operation has grown since Sunday. The cause has been attributed by officials to bad weather, but a fuller account of what happened aboard the ferry has not been detailed.

What’s next

The search continues, with ships and helicopters covering the area where the ferry was last reported and civilian vessels asked to watch for passengers. Key open questions include how many of the 129 missing can be found alive, whether the death toll rises, and the discrepancy between passenger counts reported by Reuters and the BBC. Officials have not announced findings on why the vessel overturned beyond the bad weather it encountered.