Tuesday, 02 January 2024 12:17 GMT

Indonesia Ferry Disaster: 128 Still Missing, Search Efforts Intensify


(MENAFN) Rescuers in Indonesia are racing to locate 128 people still unaccounted for after a ferry capsized in the Java Sea, with six deaths confirmed and 109 survivors pulled from the water, local media reported Tuesday.

Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) said 115 of the 243 passengers and crew who were aboard the Virgo Transport 8 have now been accounted for, a state-run news agency reported.

The ferry went down in the early hours of Sunday in waters near Masalembu Island, off Tanjung Selatan in South Kalimantan province.

Local authorities in South Kalimantan are now coordinating the safe return of rescued passengers to their home regions, pending medical and psychological clearance to travel.
South Kalimantan Governor Muhidin said most survivors were eager to head home as soon as possible. "After we asked them, most of the survivors said they wanted to return home quickly," he said, according to the news agency.

Officials are also assisting survivors who lost their identification papers in the sinking, helping them secure police certificates required to book flights.

Fifteen survivors remain under hospital care in Banjarmasin — six at Ulin Regional General Hospital, seven at Bhayangkara Hospital, and two at Sultan Suriansyah Hospital. A further 59 passengers, cleared as medically stable, are being temporarily sheltered in housing arranged by the provincial government.

Basarnas and other national agencies continue to lead the search for those still missing, as the operation stretches into its third day.

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