Indonesian ferry with 243 people on board sinks in Java Sea

An Indonesian ferry carrying 243 people sank in the Java Sea on Sunday after encountering bad weather, local authorities said. A local official said that after the sinking, one person was known to be dead, 102 people were rescued, and about 140 passengers were missing.

Putu Sudayana, head of the rescue office: "We are doing our best to search and rescue the missing people. Some passengers have been successfully rescued and evacuated."

At the time of the incident, the ferry named "Virgo Transport 8" was sailing from Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city, to Banjarmasin, the capital of South Kalimantan province.

The ship set off on Saturday morning local time and was originally scheduled to arrive at its destination at 2 pm on Sunday. However, contact was lost after encountering bad weather early Sunday morning.

Search and rescue operations are still ongoing

After the ferry's operator sent a distress call to authorities, authorities dispatched multiple ships and a helicopter to the area. The Associated Press reported that the last known position of the ship was approximately 148 kilometers away from the destination port of Banjarmasin in the Java Sea.

Sudayana of the rescue agency said in a press briefing that after the operator of the distressed ferry notified the government of the accident information, given the large number of ferry passengers, the relevant authorities are mobilizing as many personnel and ships as possible to participate in the rescue, while paying close attention to weather changes in the sea area where the incident occurred.

Indonesia consists of approximately 17,000 large and small islands. Compared to flying, ferries are obviously more popular due to their affordability. However, chaotic safety supervision has led to frequent maritime accidents in Indonesia.