Indonesia ferry sinks off Borneo, 129 missing after five days
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An Indonesian passenger ferry sank in the Java Sea on September 13, leaving 129 people missing after five days of search efforts. Six people died and 108 survived the sinking of the Virgo Transport 8, which was en route from Surabaya to Banjarmasin. The captain sent a distress signal as waves reached 3 meters before contact was lost around 2 a.m.
Key Facts
- The Virgo Transport 8 sank on September 13 in the Java Sea while traveling from Surabaya to Banjarmasin, a route of about 20 hours.
- The ferry carried 213 passengers, 30 crew members, and 89 vehicles, according to the Associated Press.
- Six people died, 108 survived, and 129 remain missing, with figures unchanged since Sunday, Reuters reported.
- The 119-meter ferry was built in Japan in 1987 and sold last year to Indonesian operator PT Virgo C. SH.
- Survivor Rizki Aprianshah said the ship listed nearly 30 degrees by the time friends woke him at 1 a.m., and no warning alarm sounded.
The Sinking
The Virgo Transport 8 sent a distress signal on the night of September 13 as waves reached 3 meters and the ship began to list. Contact was lost around 2 a.m., and two hours later the ferry was found capsized about 148 kilometers from Banjarmasin. Crew member Akmal told Indonesia's state news agency that the ship sank in under five minutes and he heard no warning signal until he was at a safe distance. The ferry was operating between Java and Borneo, a crossing of roughly 20 hours.
Survivor Accounts
Waiter Rizki Aprianshah was woken by friends at 1 a.m. to find the ship already listing nearly 30 degrees. He said no warning alarm sounded before the sinking. Rizki and his friends clung to a large floating gas cylinder for about 10 hours before being rescued. The Associated Press noted that passenger counts in Indonesia often differ from official manifests.
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