Indonesian rescuers searching for 129 missing people after ship capsized

Jakarta, Indonesia - Over six hundred rescuers are combing the Java Sea for 129 people still missing after a passenger ship capsized during a storm on Sunday, according to an official on Monday. The death toll remains at six, with the Virgo Transport 8 ferry carrying 243 passengers and crew going missing in rough weather, the rescue agency reported.

The ship, which was en route from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, has been rescued from, leaving 108 people missing. I Putu Sudayana, head of the Banjarmasin rescue agency, stated that the search efforts have continued since early Monday morning, deploying 622 personnel and around 12 ships.

A partially submerged ship, visible in a video shared by the rescue agency, lies capsized in choppy blue waters. Two small boats, each carrying survivors, can be seen floating nearby. The ship is seen leaning heavily to one side following strong waves striking its starboard side.

On Sunday, Edy Prakoso, another official at the national rescue agency, mentioned that the vessel leaned heavily to one side after encountering strong waves on its starboard side. The transport minister, Dudy Purwagandhi, reported that a passing helicopter had witnessed the ship capsizing, with the cause still under investigation.

Ferries are the primary mode of transportation across Indonesia's 17,000 islands, where air travel is more costly and less accessible. There have been numerous accidents in recent years, including two ferries catching fire in separate incidents last month, resulting in five and one death respectively.