129 Missing After Indonesian Ferry Capsizes
129 Missing After Indonesian Ferry Capsizes
The News
Indonesian authorities are searching for 129 people still missing after the passenger ferry Virgo Transport 8 overturned in bad weather in the Java Sea.
At least six passengers were killed, NPR reported Monday.
Officials said more than 600 rescuers were battling stormy seas to reach the vessel, according to Al Jazeera.
The weather was very poor when the ship went over, with waves as high as three metres crashing into it, The Independent reported.
Timeline
The Virgo Transport 8 capsizes in the Java Sea during bad weather, with waves reported as high as three metres striking the ship, per The Independent.
Indonesian authorities intensify the search. At least six passengers are confirmed dead and 129 people remain missing, NPR reported.
Rescue teams deploy specialised underwater teams and navy-operated underwater drones as crews try to board the capsized hull, France 24 reported.
Officials say more than 600 rescuers are working through stormy seas, according to Al Jazeera.
Reactions
Indonesian officials have framed the operation as a race against the weather: Al Jazeera reported that officials put the rescue force at more than 600 people fighting stormy conditions.
France 24 reported that the deployment of specialised underwater divers and navy underwater drones marks an escalation of the effort, a sign authorities now expect to search the submerged vessel itself rather than only the surface.
Coverage across NPR, France 24, Al Jazeera and The Independent has centered on the same question: how many of the missing can still be found alive.
What's Next
The search continues, with underwater teams and navy drones working to reach and board the capsized ferry.
The missing count of 129 and the death toll of six are official figures as of Monday and are likely to change as crews reach more of the ship.
Weather remains the limiting factor — rescuers were still contending with choppy, stormy water at the last report.
More
What Is Known
The vessel is identified in the reporting as the Virgo Transport 8, a passenger ship, and the capsizing happened in the Java Sea.
Ferry travel is a backbone of transport across Indonesia's thousands of islands, and this is a large-scale loss even by the standards of the country's maritime disasters.
The cause of the capsizing has not been established in the available reporting beyond the severe weather at the time.
Poll
What should Indonesia focus on first after this disaster?
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