Indonesia intensifies search for 129 people missing after ship capsizes 

Hundreds of rescuers including the coastguard have joined the search for 129 people missing after an Indonesian passenger ship capsized in the Java Sea, authorities said Monday.

The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) said crews had rescued 108 people and that at least six others had died after the ferry capsized on Sunday.

The Virgo Transport 8 ship was carrying 243 people from Surabaya on the Indonesian island of Java to Banjarmasin, a port city on Borneo, when it lost contact with its operator during poor weather conditions, according to Basarnas.

“We have continued the search for the missing since early in the morning [Monday]. We are deploying 622 personnel and around 12 ships,” I Putu Sudayana, head of the Banjarmasin rescue agency, told the news service Reuters.

Choppy waters with high waves and strong winds were impeding the search on Monday, Mohammad Syafii, head of the national rescue agency, said.

“We would also deploy personnel with underwater rescue skills but the current conditions do not allow us to,” he said.

The capsized boat is about 80 nautical miles (equivalent to about 150km) from the command centre at Trisakti Port in Banjarmasin, Arianto Ardi, another official at the rescue agency, told Reuters.

“The conditions there are quite windy, ⁠making it difficult for the vessel to dock,” he said.

In a video released by the rescue agency, a large red-and-black ship lies capsized and partially submerged in choppy blue water, with its red-painted underside visible above the surface.

Two small boats, each carrying people, were seen floating near the capsized ship amid rough water.

On Sunday, Edy Prakoso, another official at the national rescue agency, said the ship leaned heavily to one side after strong waves hit its starboard side.

A passing helicopter reported the vessel had capsized, Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said on Sunday, with the cause still being investigated.

He said the boat had the capacity to carry 500 passengers, so it was not overloaded.

Indonesia relies on ferries across its 17,000 islands, where sea travel is cheaper and more accessible than flying, and there have been numerous accidents.

In separate incidents last month, five people died when a ferry caught fire off Madura Island, and one person died in a fire on a ferry travelling from the tourist island of Bali.