Indonesia launches search for passenger ship with 240 aboard after contact lost in Java Sea

Indonesian rescue teams have launched a hunt for a passenger ship carrying about 240 people that lost contact in the Java Sea en route from Surabaya to Banjarmasin.

• Indonesian authorities announced the loss of contact with the passenger ship Virgo Transport 8 carrying roughly 240 people during its voyage from Surabaya to Banjarmasin.
• The head of Banjarmasin's search and rescue office said the agency received the report of the lost contact and immediately dispatched personnel and the rescue vessel Laksamana 241 to the ship's last estimated position.
• The ship's last known location was in the Java Sea, approximately 148 kilometers from Banjarmasin's port pier.
• Rescuers have saved 102 people from the Virgo Transport 8, with one death confirmed and around 140 still missing.
• The ship was carrying 243 people when it lost contact in bad weather early Sunday, and search operations with ships and a helicopter are ongoing.
• Indonesian rescuers have evacuated 103 people from the Virgo Transport 8, up from the previously reported 102, with one death confirmed.
• Reports indicate that the ferry has sunk in the Java Sea during the incident.
• Indonesian rescuers have evacuated 115 people from the Virgo Transport 8, up from 103, with one death confirmed and about 130 still missing.
• The Indonesian search-and-rescue agency said the ferry sailed Saturday from Surabaya before contact was lost in the Java Sea.
• Rescue operations in the Java Sea have been hampered by waves reaching up to 2.5 meters high.