The Virgo Transport 8 went down in rough weather while sailing from East Java to Borneo, triggering a desperate search operation for more than 120 passengers and crew still unaccounted for.

BANJARMASIN, Indonesia — At least six people have died and more than 120 remain missing after a passenger ferry capsized in the Java Sea on Sunday, Indonesian authorities said. The Virgo Transport 8 was sailing between the Indonesian islands of Java and Borneo when it was hit by bad weather and went down, prompting a major search and rescue operation.

The Incident

The ferry, carrying 213 passengers and 30 crew members, lost contact with its shipping company at around 2am on Sunday, shortly after departing from Surabaya in East Java. Local search and rescue chief I Putu Sudayana said the ship’s captain had reported to its owners that the vessel was “tilting” before all communication was lost.

Indonesian Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi confirmed the ship had capsized but had not sunk. “From the information we received, based on helicopter surveillance… the ship capsized but has not sunk. As of 3pm, it had not sunk yet, but it was capsized,” he said at a news conference in Banjarmasin.

The vessel’s last position was detected in the Java Sea, approximately 150 kilometres from its destination.

The Rescue Operation

Basarnas, Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency, said in its latest update that six people had been killed and 129 were missing, while 108 people had been rescued. Earlier figures had placed the number of rescued at 107.

Rescuers battled waves of up to 2.5 metres to reach the stricken ferry. “It is extremely risky for vessels. Even our Basarnas vessel, which is 40 metres long, is at great risk,” Sudayana told reporters. Two helicopters were involved in the search, and the national rescue agency said it continued to take weather conditions and wave patterns into account in the operational area.

The first rescue ship carrying survivors arrived before nightfall at a pier in Banjarmasin, a city on the southern coast of Borneo. Some survivors were carried on stretchers into waiting ambulances, while others were put into wheelchairs or needed help walking.

Search efforts are typically suspended during the night in Indonesian ferry disasters.

“I Hope He Survives”

At the Banjarmasin port, rescue authorities established a command centre with paramedics and ambulances on standby. Dozens of relatives and friends of the passengers gathered to check a whiteboard where the names of rescued people were being updated.

Jenah, 26, told AFP she came to the command post for information about her older brother. “I am saddened and very shocked. Until now, I haven’t received any more information,” she said. “He was travelling alone. I hope he survives. I couldn’t contact him since last night”.

A Familiar Pattern

The disaster is the latest in a long series of maritime accidents in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands that relies heavily on boat connections for daily transport and tourism. Lax safety standards and unpredictable weather are the main reasons for the recurring disasters.

In recent months alone, a fire on board a ferry killed one person and left five others missing while 211 were rescued in the Lombok Strait off Bali in August. In July, a ferry transporting more than 70 people sank near Selayar, a small island south of Sulawesi.

On Monday, a speedboat carrying eight people, including five journalists working for local and international news agencies, went missing near Mount Anak Krakatau in Banten province. That search is ongoing. The journalists had been sent to cover the volcano’s eruption, which paralysed Jakarta’s main airport and several others.

What Happens Next

The search for the missing passengers and crew is expected to resume at first light on Monday, weather permitting. The command centre at Banjarmasin port remains operational, with families awaiting news of their loved ones.

For now, the fate of more than 120 people remains unknown — and Indonesia’s troubled maritime safety record faces yet another grim reckoning.