Contact has been lost with the passenger ship Virgo Transport 8 in the Java Sea, with more than 240 people on board. The incident occurred during bad weather, and a search operation is already under way in Indonesia, according to infohub.kz.
The vessel departed from Surabaya in East Java province and was heading to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan province. Contact with it was lost at around 02:00 local time on Sunday, September 13.
According to Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency Basarnas, the last known position of Virgo Transport 8 was approximately 80 nautical miles from the Basirih rescue pier in Banjarmasin.
The head of the Banjarmasin search and rescue office, I Putu Sudayana, said the ship's operator had informed authorities that Virgo Transport 8 had encountered adverse weather conditions.
"The ship's operator reported the incident to authorities after receiving information that the vessel had encountered bad weather," I Putu Sudayana said.
According to preliminary data, the ship left Surabaya at 10:13 local time on Saturday. According to the ship's manifest, there were 241 passengers on board. There is no information yet about deaths or injuries.
After contact was lost, rescuers launched a search operation. A rescue vessel was sent to the estimated location of Virgo Transport 8's last known position.
According to Sudayana, authorities will deploy all available forces and resources because of the large number of passengers and crew members on board. The search operation is being conducted jointly with maritime authorities and other relevant services.
Rescuers are also monitoring weather conditions in the area of the Java Sea where the ship went missing.
Earlier, Kursiv wrote that the passenger ferry FILOJET, traveling from Kyrenia to the Turkish port of Tasucu, capsized off the coast of Northern Cyprus. At least seven people died and another 23 were listed as missing.
There were 259 passengers and eight crew members on board. Rescuers managed to find 237 people alive.