Disasters & Incidents
Indonesia ferry rescue delayed as 129 remain missing
Indonesian rescuers brought 22 survivors ashore in Banjarmasin on Tuesday after bad weather delayed their evacuation from the Virgo Transport 8 ferry capsizing, while 129 people remained missing, the national search and rescue agency Basarnas said.
Basarnas said six people had died, 108 had been rescued alive and 129 others were still unaccounted for three days after the passenger ship went down off Java early Sunday. The ferry was carrying 213 passengers and 30 crew.
Local search and rescue agency head I Putu Sudayana said the survivors had been due to be evacuated to Trisakti Port a day earlier, but high swells and waves prevented the move. Basarnas said four bodies were also airlifted to Banjarmasin on Tuesday.
The ferry lost contact with its shipping company shortly after leaving Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, for Banjarmasin on Borneo. Footage released by Basarnas on Monday showed part of the capsized hull above the waterline.
Nearly 1,100 rescuers, including navy and police personnel, were involved in the search, supported by more than a dozen vessels and five aircraft, Basarnas said. Transportation Minister Dudy Purwagandhi previously said the ferry was carrying fewer than its 500-person capacity.
Marine accidents are a regular occurrence in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands that relies heavily on boat links for transport and tourism.
Update
Basarnas said 22 survivors were brought to a harbour in Banjarmasin on Tuesday after bad weather prevented their evacuation a day earlier.
Four bodies were airlifted to Banjarmasin on Tuesday, according to Basarnas.
Nearly 1,100 rescuers, more than a dozen vessels and five aircraft were involved in the search operation.
Source note: AFP news report published on 15 September 2026 at 10:39:57 UTC.
Update
Death toll rose from one to six, according to Indonesia's national search and rescue agency chief Mohammad Syafii.
The number of missing people was given as 129, with at least 108 people rescued the previous day.
Authorities said the ferry had capsized and rescuers had located the wreck.
Five aircraft and 17 vessels, including navy warships, were deployed for the search.
Syafii said divers and underwater drones would be used to search in and around the wreck.
Transportation Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said the ferry was not overloaded and was below its 500-person capacity.
Source note: AFP news report published on 14 September 2026 at 02:44:34 UTC.
Update
A rescue official said 103 passengers had been evacuated, including one who died.
Rescuers faced waves of up to 2.5 metres while trying to reach the ferry.
The local search and rescue chief said the captain had reported the vessel was tilting before it lost contact.
Source note: AFP news report published on 13 September 2026 at 05:26:26 UTC.
Update
Officials said one person was dead.
Officials said 102 people had been rescued.
The ferry was described as stricken off Indonesia's Java.
Source note: AFP news report published on 13 September 2026 at 04:33:32 UTC.
Update
The Virgo Transport 8 left Surabaya, East Java, on Saturday and lost contact with its shipping company early on Sunday.
Its last detected position was in the Java Sea about 150 kilometres from Banjarmasin pier.
Search and rescue operations began on Sunday morning and involved the navy, police and the shipping company.
The vessel was described as a passenger and cargo ship travelling from Java to Borneo in bad weather.
Source note: AFP news report published on 13 September 2026 at 04:12:30 UTC.
Update
The ferry was identified as Virgo Transport 8.
It was travelling from Surabaya to another port city.
The Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office said personnel and KN SAR Laksmana 241 were deployed to the estimated last known position.
I Putu Sudayana was identified as head of the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office.
Source note: AFP news report published on 13 September 2026 at 03:18:42 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The supplied material does not establish the cause of the capsizing.
Source
AFP news report published on .