Indonesian ferry carrying 243 people reported missing at sea
The ship set sail on Saturday from the East Java city of Surabaya to the South Kalimantan city of Banjarmasin before losing contact during bad weather.
An Indonesian passenger ferry carrying 243 people has been reported missing at sea after losing contact early Sunday amid severe weather, according to the country's search and rescue agency. The Virgo Transport 8 ship departed from Surabaya, East Java, on Saturday en route to Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, but it has since failed to make contact.
Efforts are underway to locate the vessel, with a search team dispatched to its last known position in the Java Sea. The ship remains untraceable at this time, raising concerns about the safety of its passengers. Indonesia, a nation comprised of 17,000 islands, relies heavily on ferry transportation due to its affordability and accessibility compared to air travel.
However, the country's maritime safety standards are often subpar, leading to a relatively high frequency of maritime accidents.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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