At least six people have died after the passenger ferry "Virgo Transport 8" capsized in the Java Sea off the coast of Indonesia. Rescuers are continuing search operations for about 130 passengers and crew members who have not yet been accounted for.
The ferry was traveling from the city of Surabaya in East Java province to Banjarmasin, the administrative center of South Kalimantan province. According to Indonesia's search and rescue agency, there were 243 people on board, of whom 213 were passengers and 30 were crew members.
Contact with the vessel was lost on the morning of September 13 due to bad weather. The captain had managed to send a distress signal, reporting that the ship had tilted due to waves reaching up to three meters in height. Authorities later confirmed the ferry had capsized, and Indonesia's Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi noted that the vessel had not sunk.
Rescuers have already managed to pull 107 people from the water and evacuate them. Rescue vessels, a navy ship and a helicopter are taking part in the search operations. Efforts are focused on an area about 150 kilometers from Banjarmasin, where the ferry's location was last recorded.
This tragedy in the Java Sea once again highlights the serious problems related to maritime transport safety in Indonesia. In a country made up of thousands of islands, ferries are the main means of transport, but sudden weather changes and wave heights often lead to such disastrous consequences.
Despite the significant forces deployed by the authorities, including navy ships and helicopters, search operations are complicated in the open sea. The coming hours will be decisive in determining the fate of the missing, and after the incident is over, the transport ministry will have to review the procedure for granting navigation permits in such conditions.
