The death toll from the Virgo Transport 8 ferry disaster in Indonesia has risen to 28, while 107 people remain missing as rescuers intensify a dangerous underwater search more than a week after the vessel capsized in the Java Sea.
The passenger ferry was carrying 243 people, including 30 crew members and an unknown number of vehicles, when it capsized in bad weather on Sept. 13 while traveling from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan.
Authorities have confirmed 108 survivors. The latest figures mean that a large number of passengers remain unaccounted for despite days of coordinated search-and-rescue operations involving Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency, Navy and coast guard personnel.
The recovery effort has increasingly shifted underwater, particularly toward the ferry’s hull and passenger cabins. Rescuers recovered 16 bodies from inside the vessel over a three-day period, including nine on Sept. 23. Two additional bodies were found after being washed ashore roughly 253 kilometres from the accident site, highlighting the difficulty of tracking victims and debris across open water.
Divers, however, are facing extremely difficult conditions. Murky water and strong currents have prevented teams from entering some of the cabins even after windows were broken to create access points. Rescue officials said victims had been seen inside sections of the ferry but could not immediately be recovered because doing so could put divers at serious risk.
The operation could become even more complicated when rescuers move toward the vehicles carried aboard the ferry. Many appear to have shifted and piled on top of one another after the vessel overturned, creating unstable conditions inside the wreck and increasing the possibility of entrapment or injury for divers.
Authorities are also working on plans to right the capsized ferry. The vessel remained overturned as of Sept. 23, while officials assessed how to continue the recovery operation safely. The search-and-rescue mission has been extended through Sept. 27.
The disaster occurred during severe weather, but the precise circumstances that caused the ferry to capsize remain subject to investigation. A final determination will require authorities to examine factors including weather conditions, the vessel’s condition, loading and stability, passenger records and the actions taken by the crew.
The changing casualty figures also underline how difficult it has been to establish the full passenger manifest. Earlier stages of the operation produced different numbers as authorities worked to reconcile survivors, missing passengers and recovered victims. By Sept. 23, officials had settled on 243 people aboard, with 28 confirmed dead, 107 missing and 108 survivors.
For families still waiting for news, the extended search remains critical. Rescue teams must balance the urgency of recovering those still missing with the dangers created by strong currents, poor visibility and the unstable wreck.
The search is continuing, but with more victims believed to be inside the ferry, the next phase could determine not only the final death toll but also what investigators learn about how the Virgo Transport 8 disaster unfolded.
