Jakarta, ThedailyID — Search and rescue teams found 10 more victims from KM Virgo Transport 8 on Friday, September 25. The ship overturned and sank in the Masalembo waters of the Java Sea.
The latest discovery brings the total number of victims found to 160. Authorities recorded 108 survivors and 52 deaths, while 83 people remain missing.
Head of Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), Air Marshal TNI Mohammad Syafii, said search teams will continue using all available resources.
“We continue to deploy all available resources. Every piece of information and finding in the field will be followed up immediately,” Syafii said on Friday, September 25.
He added that the main priority remains finding the missing victims and providing certainty to their families.
During Friday’s operation, joint diving teams recovered five victims from inside the ship. Rescuers transferred them to the KN SAR Kamajaya and KRI Gusti Ngurah Rai before transporting them by helicopter to Syamsudin Noor Air Base.
Three other victims were found near the Cabang River in the PT Kumai Sentosa area of Sukamara Regency. Two additional victims were discovered in Sandurian, Seruyan Regency.
The recovered victims were taken to Sukamara Regional Hospital. Authorities will then transport them to Bhayangkara Hospital in Banjarmasin for further examination and identification.
Search teams continue operations through diving, surface searches, and aerial surveillance. Basarnas is deploying all available SAR resources to locate the remaining victims.
KM Virgo Transport 8 lost contact in the Java Sea at around 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, September 13. The vessel had departed Surabaya for Banjarmasin the previous day.
The ship was carrying 243 people. Authorities suspect bad weather contributed to the incident, and rescuers found the vessel overturned in the Java Sea on the same day it lost contact.
The search operation remains ongoing as authorities work to locate the 83 people still missing.
