At least six people have died and another 129 remain missing after an Indonesian passenger ship capsized due to bad weather in the Java Sea early Sunday morning, according to the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas). Rescue teams have managed to save 108 people from the Virgo Transport 8 ship and continue searching for survivors, the agency added.
The ship set sail with 243 people, including 30 crew members, from the city of Surabaya (East Java) on Saturday, according to Basarnas. The families of the passengers are waiting for news in the city of Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, where the ship was headed before losing contact with authorities.
6 MD & 107 SELAMAT, KORBAN KAPAL VIRGO TRANSPORT 8, LAINNYA MASIH DALAM PENCARIAN pic.twitter.com/eQYCB1KWqp
— @SAR_NASIONAL (@SAR_NASIONAL) September 13, 2026
Indonesian Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi explained in a press conference that the alert was given by a helicopter flying over the area, which reported that the ship had capsized. The cause is still under investigation, he added. Previously, Basarnas had reported the sinking of the ship.
Read more Mas: “I have dreamed of and worked for this victory”
The rescued passengers were transferred to other ships and some of them will be taken to a port in East Java, explained the head of the search agency in Banjarmasin, Putu Sudayana, in a video.
Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands, heavily depends on ferries for transportation, as sea routes are more economical and accessible than air travel.
