Virgo Transport 8 lost contact in the Java Sea while traveling from East Java to South Kalimantan on the island of Borneo, prompting a massive search and rescue operation.
A search operation has begun in Indonesia to locate the ship. [stock image](Image: Getty)
A large-scale search operation was launched after a passenger ship with 240 people disappeared off the coast of Indonesia.
Rescue teams were mobilized on Sunday, September 13, after Virgo Transport 8 lost contact in the Java Sea while traveling from East Java to South Kalimantan on the island of Borneo.
The search and rescue department in Banjarmasin, the capital of South Kalimantan province, confirmed that the ship experienced a communications failure en route to the city from Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, located in East Java province.
According to early reports, the vessel’s last known location was in the Java Sea, approximately 148 kilometers (92 miles) from its berth at Banjarmasin. The ship’s manifest listed 241 passengers on board.
There have been no reports of casualties at this stage.
Arianto Ardi, head of operations at the Banjarmasin salvage agency, confirmed that contact with the ship had been lost and that rescue teams had been sent to the area.
“We have established an operational post in Trisakti,” Arianto said.
Authorities said the vessel’s operator reported the incident after receiving reports that the vessel had encountered adverse weather conditions.
The alarming event comes just days after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck Java, Indonesia. The tremor occurred at a depth of 143 km (89 miles) and did not pose a risk of a tsunami, according to Indonesia’s geophysical agency.
“Taking into account the location of the epicenter and the depth of its hypocenter, the earthquake was deep, caused by activity within the plate,” he said in a statement, adding that tsunami modeling did not indicate a tsunami threat.