Divers recover a total of 52 bodies from capsized ferry in Indonesia after a dayslong search
Divers in Indonesia have recovered a total of 52 bodies in a dayslong operation that followed the capsizing of a ferry in rough seas earlier this month, officials said Friday. Authorities had rescued 108 people, but 83 people remain missing.
An Indonesian ferry capsized in rough seas, leaving 83 passengers missing and 52 bodies recovered by divers in a multi-day search, according to officials on Friday. The Virgo Transport 8 ferry was carrying 243 people from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin on Borneo Island when it sent a distress call on September 13, stating the vessel was listing in rough waters with waves reaching 3 meters high.
It later became clear the ferry had capsized in the Masalembo archipelago in the Java Sea. Divers smashed windows underwater to recover the bodies after the rescue mission. Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency is employing all resources available to locate the missing victims and bring closure to their families. Head of the National Search and Rescue Agency, Mohammad Syafii, mentioned their primary goal is to find the missing individuals.
The agency is also planning to salvage the ferry from a depth of approximately 30 meters. The recovered bodies have been taken to the police hospital in Banjarmasin for identification before being returned to their families. Indonesia, an archipelago of over 17,000 islands, frequently experiences ferry disasters due to weak safety enforcement.
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