Basarnas Director of Operations Commodore Yudhi Bramantyo Nur\nSasongko explained that the 12 divers were selected from various diving\nunits within the SAR team following a personnel reshuffle and rotation.\nThey do not represent the total number of divers involved in the overall\nSAR operation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe divers prepared to continue the underwater operations have\nexperience handling past accidents, such as the Lion Air and Sriwijaya\nAir crash SAR operations a few years ago,\u201d Sasongko said at Trisakti\nPort in Banjarmasin on Saturday (September 19) evening.<\/p>\n
According to Sasongko, the rotation was not related to a shortage of\npersonnel. Some vessels supporting the diving operation had to return to\ntheir home bases for crew changes and other assignments.<\/p>\n
\u201cBasarnas is also preparing replacement units to maintain underwater\nsearch capabilities,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
He said the number of divers was reduced because personnel from KRI I\nGusti Ngurah Rai and KRI Pulau Fani had returned to their home bases. A\nreplacement vessel, KRI Nala, is scheduled to arrive on Sunday, the\neighth day of the SAR operation, to take over their duties.<\/p>\n
Basarnas has deployed tugboat TB Jaya Dragon to support the 12 divers\nduring the underwater operation, supplementing the 20 Indonesian Navy\ndivers who conducted the search the previous day.<\/p>\n
The team is also awaiting further instructions from the salvage team\non the next steps in recovering the vessel\u2019s hull.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hope is that these personnel can reinforce the work carried out\nby the Navy divers yesterday. We are also waiting for the salvage team\u2019s\ndecision on the next steps in the wreck recovery operation,\u201d Sasongko\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He also expressed hope that the favorable weather conditions observed\nover the past few days would continue, allowing the dive team to conduct\nthe underwater operation effectively and achieve results comparable to\nthose of the Navy divers who conducted the search earlier.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope the dive team can conduct an effective search, so the SAR\noperation can continue making progress despite adjustments to the\nvessels and personnel involved,\u201d Sasongko said.<\/p>\n
As of Saturday night, Basarnas confirmed that 117 victims had been\naccounted for, comprising 108 survivors and nine fatalities. Meanwhile,\n126 people remained missing out of the 243 individuals listed on the\nferry\u2019s manifest.<\/p>\n
Virgo Transport 8 was carrying 243 people when it departed from\nSurabaya, East Java, for Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, on September 12,\n2026.<\/p>\n
The vessel reportedly encountered bad weather and lost contact at\naround 2 a.m. on September 13, 2026, before being found later that day\nin a capsized condition in the waters of Masalembo in the Java Sea.<\/p>\n
Related news: Basarnas keeps helicopter ready as Virgo 8 search\ncontinues<\/p>\n
Related news: Basarnas stresses international standards searching\nVirgo ship<\/p>\n
Translator: Tumpal Andani, Resinta Sulistiyandari<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/basarnas-deploys-12-elite-divers-for-km-virgo-underwater-search-1789887030", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }