Indonesia Ferry Accident: 140 Missing Out of 243 Passengers

Lost Contact En Route from Surabaya to Banjarmasin
102 Evacuated to Other Vessels
Communication Lost Around 2 a.m. After Reporting Bad Weather
Rescue Authorities Conduct Search Operations

Screenshot of CNN Indonesia homepage. Yonhap News Agency

An accident occurred on a passenger ferry operating in the Java Sea, resulting in one death and 140 people missing. The ferry had 243 passengers on board, and rescue authorities have launched a search for the missing individuals.

According to foreign media outlets such as CNN Indonesia on September 13 (local time), the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Agency in South Kalimantan, Indonesia, received a report at 4:10 a.m. that day from representatives of the ferry "Vergo Transport 8," which was operating in the Java Sea.

At the time of the accident, there were 243 passengers on board. So far, one person has been confirmed dead, and 102 people evacuated using three nearby vessels. The remaining 140 people are still missing. The rescued passengers will be transported to a port in East Java Province.

The Vergo Transport 8 departed from Surabaya in East Java, Indonesia’s second-largest city, at 10:13 a.m. the previous day, bound for Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan Province.

During the voyage, the last communication from the ferry reported unfavorable weather conditions, and contact was lost around 2 a.m. that day. The vessel’s last known location was about 148 kilometers off the coast from Basiri Pier in Banjarmasin.

Rescue authorities dispatched search teams to the ferry’s last confirmed location immediately after receiving the report and are conducting search operations. The exact cause of the accident and the condition of the vessel are not yet known.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.