Rescuers dispatched as passenger ship goes dark with 240 on board

An Indonesian passenger vessel, Virgo Transport 8, carrying over 240 individuals, lost contact with authorities while navigating through adverse weather conditions in the Java Sea. The ship departed Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city in East Java province, on Saturday, August 20th, at 10:13am local time. Its final known position was approximately 148 kilometers from Banjarmasin.

The Search and Rescue Office in Banjarmasin, located on Borneo island, received a report of the vessel's disappearance from the operator two hours after communication was lost, around 2am on Sunday. Initially, authorities reported no immediate casualties. The Virgo Transport 8's manifest indicated it was carrying 241 passengers.

In response to the situation, a rescue team was dispatched to Banjarmasin, and a rescue ship was sent to the estimated last known location of the vessel. Mr. Putu Sudayana, who is coordinating the search efforts, stated that authorities are mobilizing all available personnel and coordinating with maritime authorities and other relevant agencies to locate the missing ship and its passengers.