Indonesian

Search and rescue are ongoing after Virgo Transport 8, with 243 people on board, lost contact with its operator.

Rescuers are searching for 140 people from an Indonesian passenger ship that sank in the Java Sea after 103 others were evacuated, one of whom has died, a search and ‌rescue agency official said.

The Virgo Transport 8, with 243 people on board, lost contact with its operator in the early hours of Sunday, according to Indonesia’s search and rescue agency.

It had sailed from Surabaya on the Indonesian island of Java on Saturday and was heading for Banjarmasin, a port city on Borneo.

Rescuers are searching for the remaining passengers and crew.

The ship encountered rough weather, said I Putu Sudayana, head of the local search and rescue office in Banjarmasin.

The ferry’s last known position was in the Java Sea, about 81 nautical miles (150km) from Banjarmasin, the AFP news agency reported.

Rescue ships and a helicopter have been searching the area, where Sudayana said waves as high as 2.5 metres (8.2 feet) have hampered the operation.

“It is extremely risky for vessels. Even our Basarnas vessel, which is 40 metres [131 feet] long, is at great risk,” Sudayana told reporters, referring to the country’s search and rescue agency.

Last month, a fire on a ferry sailing between Bali and Lombok killed one person and left five missing. In July, a ferry carrying more than 70 people sank near Selayar Island, south of Sulawesi.

JAKARTA: Indonesian rescuers launched a search operation Sunday after a passenger ship carrying at least 240 people lost contact in the Java Sea while traveling from East Java to South Kalimantan on Borneo island, officials said.

The Search and Rescue Office in Banjarmasin, the capital of South Kalimantan province, said they received a report the Virgo Transport 8 had experienced a communication failure while en route to the city from Surabaya, Indonesia’s second largest city in East Java province.

Initial information indicated the vessel’s last known position was in the Java Sea, about 148 kilometers (92 miles) from a pier in Banjarmasin. The ship’s manifest said it was carrying 241 passengers.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Arianto Ardi, operations chief at Banjarmasin’s rescue agency, confirmed the loss of contact with the vessel and said rescue personnel had been dispatched to the area.

“We have established an operations post at Trisakti,” Arianto said.

Authorities said the ship’s operator reported the incident after receiving information that the vessel had encountered bad weather.