ERBIL () - One person was killed and more than 100 rescued on Sunday after a passenger ferry traveling between Indonesia’s Java and Borneo islands ran into severe weather and sank in the Java Sea, rescue officials said.
The Virgo Transport 8, carrying 243 passengers and crew as well as vehicles, lost contact with its shipping company early Sunday after departing from Surabaya in East Java.
Local search and rescue chief I Putu Sudayana said 103 people had been evacuated, while one passenger had died. He said rescuers faced waves reaching 2.5 meters as they attempted to reach the stricken vessel.
“It is extremely risky for vessels. Even our Basarnas vessel, which is 40 metres long, is at great risk,” Sudayana said, referring to Indonesia’s Search and Rescue Agency.
A Basarnas helicopter also joined the rescue operation.
Sudayana earlier said the ship’s captain had reported that the vessel was “tilting” before contact was lost. Its last known position was detected in the Java Sea, about 150 kilometers from its destination.
Heri Purwanto, head of the Banjarmasin Sea Port Authority, said the ferry lost contact at around 2:00 a.m. Sunday after encountering trouble.
“We responded quickly to the incident report... Our main focus and top priority at this time is the safety of everyone on board the ship, and we are deploying a coordinated rescue operation,” Purwanto said.
A command center was established at Banjarmasin port, with paramedics and ambulances placed on standby.
Dozens of relatives and friends of passengers gathered at the port, checking a whiteboard where the names of rescued passengers were being updated.
Among them was 26-year-old Jenah, who went to the command post seeking information about her older brother.
“I am saddened and very shocked. Until now, I haven't received any more information,” she said to AFP.
“He was travelling alone. I hope he survives. I couldn't contact him since last night.”
Marine accidents are a regular occurrence in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands where boats play an important role in daily transportation and tourism.
Lax safety standards and unpredictable weather are cited in the supplied material as the main reasons for such disasters.
The latest ferry incident comes amid several other maritime accidents in Indonesia.
On week ago, a speedboat carrying eight people, including five journalists working for local and international news agencies, went missing near Mount Anak Krakatau in Banten province, with search operations continuing. The journalists had been sent to cover the volcano’s eruption, which disrupted operations at Jakarta’s main airport and several others.
Last month, a ferry fire killed one person and left five others missing, while 211 people were rescued in the Lombok Strait off Indonesia’s Bali island. The ferry had been traveling from Bali to Lombok when it encountered trouble in the early hours of Aug. 12.
In July, another ferry carrying more than 70 people sank while sailing near Selayar, a small island south of Sulawesi.
The latest rescue operation remains focused on locating and assisting passengers and crew affected by the sinking in the Java Sea.
