Indonesia Ferry Disaster: Death Toll Rises To 26 As Search Continues

The death toll from a passenger ferry that capsized and sank in Indonesia’s Java Sea has risen to 26, with 109 people still missing, officials said on Wednesday.

The vessel, identified as the Virgo Transport 8, was carrying 243 people, including 30 crew members, when it capsized in bad weather on September 13 while travelling from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan.

According to the head of Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency, Mohammad Syafii, 108 people have so far been rescued.

Rescue teams recovered 14 bodies from inside the ferry over the past three days, while two other bodies were found after being washed ashore in Central Kalimantan, about 253 kilometres from the site of the accident.

Syafii said rescuers recovered five bodies on Monday, four on Tuesday and seven on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 26.

The underwater search was being concentrated on the ferry’s cabins, where rescuers had identified passengers trapped inside.

I Putu Sudayana, head of the Banjarmasin rescue agency, said divers broke the cabin windows on Tuesday but were unable to enter because of poor visibility caused by murky water and strong currents.

“Our underwater search is focused on the ship’s hull. That is where we are concentrating because we have found many passengers trapped inside the cabins,” Sudayana said.

Rescuers may subsequently search the vehicles being carried by the ferry, although officials said the operation could be difficult because several vehicles appeared to have piled on top of one another.

Sudayana said the condition posed risks to divers and that the search would proceed only if it could be conducted safely.

Search and rescue operations have been extended until Sunday next week, while authorities are also working to right the capsized vessel.