Indonesian rescuers have launched a search operation for 140 missing people after the passenger ship Virgo Transport 8 lost contact in the Java Sea. The vessel, which was carrying 243 people, had departed from the city of Surabaya in East Java bound for Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan on Borneo island.
The ship encountered bad weather while traveling, and the captain reported that the vessel was tilting before contact was lost. Emergency crews have faced extremely risky conditions during the rescue operation, battling waves of up to 2.5 meters to reach the ferry.
Search and rescue efforts continue as authorities work to locate the missing passengers. While 103 people have been evacuated from the ship, officials confirmed that one person has died.