46 Divers Deployed to Search for 126 Victims of KM Virgo Transport 8

BANJARMASIN, KOMPAS.com - Basarnas and the Indonesian Navy (TNI AL) have deployed 46 professional divers to search for 126 victims of KM Virgo Transport 8, who remain missing on the seventh day of the SAR operation.

Diving efforts are focused on underwater searches at the shipwreck site, where the vessel was found capsized in the Masalembo waters of the Java Sea.

The Head of the Class A SAR Office in Banjarmasin, I Putu Sudayana, who is the SAR Mission Coordinator, said the divers come from various groups involved in the search operation.

“From Basarnas, 20 personnel from the Basarnas Special Group (BSG) have been deployed, along with six additional divers today from the Indonesian Diving Sports Association (POSSI), as well as divers from the Navy,” he said on Saturday (19/9/2026), as reported by Antara.

From the Navy, 20 divers have been assigned to support underwater search efforts, comprised of 10 personnel from the Frogmen Command (Kopaska) and 10 from the Underwater Rescue Unit (Dislambair) of Fleet Command II (Koarmada II).

With these reinforcements, a total of 46 divers are now involved in the search operation for KM Virgo Transport 8 victims.

I Putu explained that the six POSSI divers were arranged through support from members of the Regional House of Representatives to strengthen the search team.

He said the additional personnel would enhance Basarnas' diving team capacity for underwater search operations.

“We are grateful for the support and the additional personnel, which will increase the number of divers,” he stated.

The additional team was scheduled to depart for the accident site on Saturday afternoon. If all goes according to plan, diving searches will resume on Sunday morning.

As of Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Central Indonesia Time (WITA), the seventh day of the SAR operation, Basarnas reported that 117 people have been found from among the 243 listed on the KM Virgo Transport 8 manifest.

Of the 117 people found, 108 were rescued alive, while nine were confirmed dead.

Meanwhile, 126 people remain missing. Search efforts continue, including underwater operations involving dozens of divers.

KM Virgo Transport 8 had sailed from Surabaya, East Java, to Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, carrying 243 passengers on September 12, 2026.

The following day, on September 13 at approximately 2:00 a.m. WITA, the ship reportedly encountered bad weather and lost contact.

KM Virgo Transport 8 was found later that same day capsized in the Masalembo waters of the Java Sea.