Indonesian passenger ship carrying 243 goes missing in Java Sea

JAKARTA, Sept 13: An Indonesian passenger ship carrying 243 people has been reported missing in the Java Sea after contact with the vessel was lost early Sunday, Indonesian broadcaster Kompas reported.

The Virgo Transport 8 was sailing from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan when communication with the ship was lost at around 2 am local time (1800 GMT Saturday).

I Putu Sudayana, head of the Class A Search and Rescue Office in Banjarmasin, said the office received an emergency report about two hours later.

A joint search-and-rescue team was immediately deployed to the area.

“The latest information received indicates that the ship is facing bad weather in the waters of the Java Sea,” Sudayana said in a statement.

The vessel was reported to be about 80 nautical miles (92 miles) from the Basirih Search and Rescue Dock in Banjarmasin.

Authorities said 243 people were on board, including 30 crew members.

Search and rescue teams are continuing efforts to locate the vessel and determine the condition of those on board.