Indonesia: Search for 140 people missing from passenger ship

Indonesian officials say 103 people have been rescued at sea after a passenger ship carrying more than 240 people lost contact in the Java Sea during bad weather.

In an earlier statement, the country's search and rescue agency said the Virgo Transport 8 ship set sail on Saturday from Surabaya, East Java, to the South Kalimantan city of Banjarmasin on Borneo before losing contact.

"At the time of this statement, the ship cannot be contacted and its whereabouts are unknown," the agency said.

It later said 103 people have been rescued, 140 are still missing, and one person has died.

The Search and Rescue Office in Banjarmasin said it received a report that the ship had experienced a communication failure, with initial information indicating the vessel's last known position was about 148 kilometres from a pier.

Indonesia, an archipelago made up of around 17,000 islands, relies heavily on ferries to travel between islands, with sea routes more affordable and readily available than air travel.

However, safety standards are not always strictly enforced, which results in a relatively high accident rate.

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(c) Sky News 2026: Indonesia: Search for 140 people missing from passenger ship