6 dead, 103 rescued, several missing as Indonesia launches search after passenger ship goes missing

A ferry sailing between the Indonesian islands of Java and Borneo was hit by bad weather on Sunday, resulting in the death of six people as rescue teams evacuated more than 100 people, officials told Reuters.

The Search and Rescue Office in Banjarmasin, the capital city of South Kalimantan province 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 reports indicated the vessel's last known position was in the Java Sea, about 148 kilometres from a pier in Banjarmasin.


"It is extremely risky for vessels. Even our Basarnas vessel, which is 40 metres long, is at great risk," local search and rescue chief I Putu Sudayana said, referring to Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency. A Basarnas helicopter has joined the operation, he added.