Photo courtesy of Anadolu
Indonesian rescuers launched a search Sunday for the Virgo Transport 8, a passenger vessel carrying 243 people that went missing while crossing the Java Sea.
Authorities said the ship was believed to have encountered bad weather roughly 80 nautical miles from the Basirih Search and Rescue Dock in Banjarmasin.
The vessel had been traveling from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan when communication was lost at around 2 a.m. Central Indonesian Time.
Of those on board, 30 were crew members, according to Indonesian authorities.
The Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office received the emergency report about two hours after contact with the ship was lost.
A joint rescue team was subsequently dispatched to the area to locate the vessel and determine the condition of those aboard.
I Putu Sudayana, head of the Banjarmasin search and rescue office, said available information indicated that poor weather was affecting the ship’s last reported area.
No information on casualties or the vessel’s exact location had been confirmed as search operations continued.
