The death toll from an Indonesian ship that capsized earlier this month rose to 66 as of Monday, as divers braved leaking fuel and dangerously unsound structures to find the 69 passengers still missing on the 16th day of the search.
The Virgo Transport 8 ferry was carrying 243 people, including 30 crew members and an unknown number of vehicles, when it capsized in bad weather early on September 13 during a voyage from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan.Indonesia relies on ferries to connect its 17,000 islands, with sea travel cheaper and more accessible than flying, but there have been numerous accidents.
Divers were navigating through unstable debris on the 16th day of the search, Hardiansyah Putra, a senior official from the country's search and rescue agency, said on Monday, adding that they would aim to find the missing passengers in the cabins.
The divers were limited to a maximum depth of 27 metres, he added.
From the Java Sea where the ship sank, rescuers were expected to airlift some recovered bodies using a helicopter on Monday, senior agency official I Putu Sudayana said on Sunday.
Source: Reuters
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