By Nik Nurfaqih Nik Wil
JAKARTA, Sept 13 (Bernama) -- A total of 103 of the 243 people aboard the Virgo Transport 8 passenger ship which had lost contact in the Java Sea early Sunday have been evacuated, with one person reported dead.
Banjarmasin Search and Rescue (SAR) Office chief I Putu Sudayana said the evacuation was carried out by three vessels involved in the search operation. Search is ongoing for those still unaccounted for.
“As of 12 noon, we have carried out the search for the victims to the fullest extent possible, and passengers have been successfully evacuated by teams at the location.
"We can confirm that about 103 passengers have been evacuated,” he told a press conference in Banjarmasin on Sunday, streamed live by local media.
Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) was alerted to the missing ship at 4.10 am after contact was lost with the ship at about 2 am in bad weather in the Java Sea.
The passenger ship had departed Surabaya on Saturday for Banjarmasin. Its last known position was about 80 nautical miles from the SAR base in Banjarmasin.
Local media, citing an official from state-owned port operator Pelindo, reported that the ship developed a leak in bad weather before capsizing and sinking. Basarnas has yet to confirm the condition of the ship.
On the ongoing search operation, Putu said waves of between two and 2.5 metres have been reported in the search area, posing risks to smaller vessels. The team has prioritised larger vessels due to the rough conditions.
A Basarnas helicopter has also been deployed for aerial searches, he said.
“The conditions are very risky, even for our Basarnas vessel, which is about 40 metres long,” he said.
-- BERNAMA