A passenger vessel sank in the Java Sea off Indonesia, leaving at least six people dead and 130 others missing. Rescue teams are carrying out an intensive search operation to locate those still unaccounted for.
The vessel, identified as the Virgo Transport-8, was carrying 243 people when the incident occurred. According to information from Indonesia’s rescue agency Basarnas, the ship had departed from Java Island on Saturday morning and was heading towards Borneo when the accident took place.
Contact with the vessel was lost on Sunday morning. It was later reported that the ship had sunk in deep waters.
Rescue teams quickly reached the location and managed to save 107 people alive. Six bodies have also been recovered, while 130 people remained missing at the time of writing.
The vessel was reportedly carrying 130 crew members and 213 passengers, according to the information available about the incident.
Authorities suspect that rough sea conditions caused by bad weather may have contributed to the accident. Rescue operations are continuing, with teams searching the surrounding waters for the missing passengers and crew members.
The incident has triggered a major maritime rescue operation as authorities work to determine the exact circumstances that led to the vessel sinking.