129 Missing After Indonesia Ferry Capsizes in Minutes
Six confirmed dead as search continues for 129 missing after the Virgo Transport 8 overturned in the Java Sea.
A survivor of Indonesia’s latest ferry disaster has revealed how the Virgo Transport 8 capsized in less than 10 minutes, leaving 129 people still missing as rescue teams battle rough seas and strong winds in the Java Sea.
The Virgo Transport 8, a passenger ferry operated by Virgo Karya Shipping, was en route from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin on Borneo Island when it overturned early Sunday. As of Tuesday, six people had been confirmed dead, while 129 remained missing.
How the Ferry Capsized in Minutes
Rizky Apriansyah, a waiter on the ferry, was asleep on the top deck when four friends woke him at around 1 a.m. on Sunday. They urged him to take a life jacket. “They told him to take a life jacket,” Apriansyah recounted. The ferry was already leaning 30 degrees to the left, a clear sign of distress.
Apriansyah described how 3-4 metre waves repeatedly struck the vessel, causing it to tilt further. He claimed no alarm was sounded, leaving many passengers unaware of the danger. “I was worried that other passengers might not know what was happening,” he said. Within minutes, the ferry overturned, throwing Apriansyah and his friends into the water. They clung to a 12-kg cooking gas cylinder approximately 15 metres from the capsized vessel.
The five survivors spent nearly 10 hours in the water before another ship spotted and rescued them. Apriansyah, who suffered minor injuries and red eyes from the ordeal, told Reuters he was traumatised and would never work at sea again.
The Rescue Effort and Indonesia’s Ferry Safety Crisis
The search for the missing passengers is being led by the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office, with support from the Indonesian Navy. Eight vessels, including four navy ships, and two helicopters have been deployed to the area. However, rough seas and strong winds have hampered operations, with waves reaching up to 3 to 4 metres (10 to 13 feet), as reported by the vessel’s captain before the distress call.
I Putu Sudayana, head of the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office, confirmed that authorities received a report two hours after contact was lost with the Virgo Transport 8 at around 2 a.m. on Sunday. The ferry’s manifest listed 243 people, 213 passengers and 30 crew members, though initial reports suggested only 234 were on board at the time of the incident.
“I was shocked when I saw my uncle’s name on the passenger list. But I felt relieved after officials told me he had been rescued,” she said.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, relies heavily on ferries for transportation.
The normal journey from Surabaya to Banjarmasin takes around 20 hours, covering a distance of 510 km. The Virgo Transport 8 left Surabaya port on Saturday afternoon but was reported missing by Sunday morning. The vessel’s last known position was approximately 80 nautical miles (nearly 150 km) from Banjarmasin.
As rescue efforts continue, the focus remains on locating the missing passengers and understanding how the ferry capsized so rapidly.
For now, families and authorities can only wait, and hope that more survivors will be found in the treacherous waters of the Java Sea.
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