Kathmandu- Indonesian authorities have launched a search and rescue operation after a passenger ferry carrying more than 240 people went missing in the Java Sea due to bad weather. According to Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, the vessel Virgo Transport 8 lost contact after departing from Surabaya in East Java toward Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan on the island of Borneo.
Further details regarding the exact number of passengers and crew members aboard have not yet been released. No casualties have been reported so far. The rescue agency stated that initial information indicates the vessel’s last known position was about 148 kilometers away from a pier.
Indonesia, an archipelago of around 17,000 islands, relies heavily on ferries for transport between islands. However, the risk of ferry accidents remains high in the region due to lax enforcement of safety standards.
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