Six people were killed and 130 others were still missing after an Indonesian passenger ferry capsized in the Java Sea, as rescuers raced to find survivors from a disaster that left 107 people rescued and families waiting for answers.
The ship was carrying 213 passengers and 30 crew members when it ran into bad weather on its trip from Surabaya to Banjarmasin. Authorities said the vessel, a 390ft ferry, was last reported about 150km south of Banjarmasin around 02:00 on Sunday, before contact was lost and a distress report came in at 04:10. By then, ships and a helicopter had been sent out and 280 personnel were involved in the search and rescue effort.
Rusmilawati was among those who went to the port in Banjarmasin looking for news. She said eight relatives had been on the ship, and there was still no confirmation that they had been found. She had been told the family had chosen the ferry for the return trip after flying to Java first, hoping the sea journey would get them home safely. Her question was shared by dozens of others gathered around the rescue effort, where every update brought relief for some and silence for others.
The ferry’s name also led to confusion for people following the rescue. It was referred to as Virgo Transport8 in one report and as a passenger ferry in others, but the figures matched the same vessel: 213 passengers and 30 crew, all now part of the count that includes six dead, 107 rescued and 130 missing. The numbers leave a simple reality at the center of the search — more people have been found than before, but far too many are still unaccounted for.
A joint task force involving Indonesia's search and rescue agency, navy, maritime police and other parties was set up to continue the operation, while all vessels in the Java Sea area were alerted to report any sign of passengers. That search now carries the weight of one unanswered question that matters most to the families at the port: whether the missing are still alive, or whether the sea has already claimed them too.
