The Head of the Banjarmasin Class A Search and Rescue Office, I\nPutting Sudayana, stated that authorities are continuing the search for\npassengers of the Virgo Transport 8 vessel that lost contact in the Java\nSea. He noted that wave heights reached 2.5 metres during the rescue\nprocess.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are also providing an update regarding the conditions on the\nground. We received a direct report from the Captain of the KN SAR\nLaksmana that wave heights at the incident location are between 2 and\n2.5 metres,\u201d said Putu during a live-streamed press conference on Sunday\n(13\/09\/2026).<\/p>\n
He mentioned that these rescue efforts also pose a significant risk\nto the SAR teams. Nevertheless, Basarnas is deploying larger vessels to\nanticipate the high sea waves.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is extremely risky for vessels like our Basarnas ships, which are\n40 metres in size; it is very precarious. Therefore, we will prioritise\nlarger vessels for the search efforts in the field,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Putu reported that 103 people have been evacuated, with one fatality\nconfirmed. His office intends to carry out the search for the remaining\npassengers with maximum effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs of 12:00 (WITA), our search efforts for the victims have been\ncarried out to the fullest extent. Some passengers had been successfully\nevacuated by 12:00. We can inform you that the number of evacuated ship\npassengers is 103,\u201d said Putu.<\/p>\n
He stated that the evacuated passengers were transported via several\nships. He noted that one vessel, the TB Mauhaw IX (or MT Mauhau),\ncarried 16 passengers from the Virgo Transport 8, with 15 survivors and\none fatality.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne person has died,\u201d he added.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/high-waves-reaching-2-5-metres-obstruct-evacuation-of-virgo-ship-passengers-1789282552", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }