Nearly 130 still missing after contact was lost with Indonesian ferry

DPAUpdated Sun, September 13, 2026 at 5:33 AM UTC1 min readAdd Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.

Nearly 130 people remained missing off Indonesia on Sunday after authorities lost radio contact with a ferry in the Java Sea.

A total of 115 people have been rescued so far, the search and rescue agency in Banjarmasin said. In addition, one body has been recovered from the sea, it said.

Search and rescue efforts continue to find those missing, it said.

Radio contact with the Virgo Transport 8 was lost early on Sunday after the vessel encountered rough seas, according to the agency.

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The ferry carrying 243 people including crew members was travelling from Surabaya on Indonesia's main island of Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan province on Borneo, around 500 kilometres away.

Its last known position early on Sunday was around 150 kilometres from Banjarmasin, the agency said.

Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands and around 280 million people, relies heavily on ferries to transport passengers and goods.