Hundreds of Indonesian rescuers including the coast guard and the navy raced on Monday to board a passenger ship that capsized in the Java Sea over the weekend as they searched for 129 people still missing, officials said, with the confirmed death toll at six.
The Virgo Transport 8 ship carrying 243 people went missing in bad weather early on Sunday, the rescue agency said. Authorities have since rescued 108 people from the ship, which was travelling from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan.Choppy waters with high waves and strong winds were impeding the search on Monday, said Mohammad Syafii, head of the national rescue agency.
The agency has deployed at least 622 personnel, 17 ships, five helicopters and aircraft to find the missing passengers, Syafii added. Some of the ships have arrived at the location but it was difficult for rescuers to make their way into the capsized and partially submerged ship, he said.
"We would also deploy personnel with underwater rescue skills but the current conditions do not allow us to," he said.
"While waiting for the weather conditions to improve, we are identifying more personnel with special skills," he said, adding the death toll remained at six.In a video shared by the rescue agency, a large red-and-black ship was capsized and partially submerged in choppy blue water, with its red-painted underside visible above the surface.
Two small boats, each carrying people, were seen floating in rough waters near the capsized ship.
The location of the capsized boat is around 80 nautical miles (nearly 150 km) from the command centre at Trisakti Port in Banjarmasin, another official at the rescue agency told Reuters.
"The conditions there are quite windy, making it difficult for the (rescue) vessels to dock," the official, Arianto Ardi, said.
As of Monday afternoon, none of the 129 missing people have been found, Arianto said, adding that rescuers are still unable to conduct a search for the victims due to the weather.
THREE-METRE WAVE CRASHES INTO SHIPThe weather was very poor when the incident happened, with waves as high as three metres crashing into the ship, Syafii said.
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