SAR Explains What Caused Virgo Transport 8 to Tilt Before Sinking - Tempo.co English

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) said waves striking the starboard side of the Virgo Transport 8 were among the factors that caused the vessel to tilt after an accident in the Java Sea on Sunday.

The vessel was traveling from Surabaya, East Java, to Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, when the incident occurred.

“The Virgo’s captain said the vessel tilted after being hit by waves on the starboard side. This is information we received directly from the captain during the search operation, particularly in efforts to locate vessels that lost contact or sank,” Basarnas Deputy for Operations and Readiness Edy Prakoso said in Jakarta.

According to data from the Virgo, the vessel was carrying 243 people, including 213 passengers and 30 crew members. The figure has been used as the basis for the ongoing search and rescue operation.

“As of the latest report from the field at 3:30 PM local time, around 113 people have been evacuated. Of these, 98 survived and six died,” Edy said.

He said 16 people were aboard the tugboat TB Mauhaw, with 15 survivors and one death. Another six people were aboard TB TCP, of whom one survived and five died.

Edy said KM Haida had 69 people aboard who were all safe. Twenty-two people from the fishing vessel Cahaya Bahari were transferred to the Intandaya vessel and survived, while one person was rescued from the fishing vessel Sri Asih.

“This brings the total number of people rescued to 114, with 98 survivors and six deaths. Around 129 people are still missing,” he said.

Basarnas said it would continue to maximize search and rescue efforts for those aboard the Virgo Transport 8, particularly the 129 people who remain unaccounted for.

The agency is deploying all available resources in the field, including both sea and air assets.