140 missing after Indonesian passenger ship loses contact in Java Sea
More than 100 people have been evacuated, while rescuers continue search operations amid bad weather
Jakarta: Indonesian rescue teams are searching for 140 people after a passenger ship carrying 243 people lost contact in the Java Sea during bad weather, authorities said.
According to Indonesia's search and rescue agency, 103 people have been evacuated, although one of those rescued later died.
The vessel, Virgo Transport 8, departed on Saturday from Surabaya in East Java and was bound for Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan before contact was lost early on Sunday.
I Putu Sudayana, head of the search and rescue agency's Banjarmasin office, said in a video statement that the evacuated passengers were rescued by various ships, with some expected to be transported to a port in East Java.
Rescue authorities have deployed search teams, vessels and a helicopter to the ship's last known location. Officials have not yet provided details on what happened to the vessel.
Indonesia, an archipelago of about 17,000 islands, relies heavily on sea transport, with ferries serving as a key means of travel between islands.
However, maritime accidents occur relatively frequently, with safety standards not always consistently enforced across the sector.