One of the survivors, Ahmad Saudi, recounted that the Virgo Transport\n8 vessel suddenly tilted heavily to the left at approximately 01:20\nWITA, without any alarm or prior warning, before eventually sinking.\nAhmad stated that he was sleeping on a sofa when he heard a passenger\nrunning and shouting that the ship was tilting, prompting him to stand\nup and realise the vessel was indeed listing heavily before he attempted\nto save himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked, \u2018Why, sir?\u2019, and was told the ship was tilting. I stood up\nand saw it was indeed tilting. I immediately ran downstairs,\u201d said Ahmad\nwhen interviewed at the emergency health service centre for victims of\nthe Virgo Transport 8 accident at Trisakti Port, Banjarmasin, South\nKalimantan, on Sunday (13\/9\/2026) night.<\/p>\n
While in the lower section of the ship, Ahmad clung to a pole near a\nwindow to steady himself as the vessel tilted further, following the\nship\u2019s movement until he managed to reach the upper deck before the ship\nsank further.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went to the window pole and held on as the ship tilted, tilted,\nand tilted. I kept holding on. After the tilting, I climbed up and\nwaited for the ship to sink,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Ahmad subsequently rescued himself using a rubber dinghy after the\nship sank further, and waited with other passengers in the darkness of\nthe sea for help from arriving rescue vessels. He noted that there were\n15 people in the rubber boat with him, all of whom were successfully\nevacuated to the rescue ship; the group consisted entirely of men, with\nno female passengers present.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were 15 people in the rubber boat. We survived and were able\nto board the rescue ship. Most were men; there were no women,\u201d he\nsaid.<\/p>\n
According to Ahmad, the sea conditions while in the rubber boat were\nquite severe, as strong winds and large waves continuously battered the\nboat for approximately three hours, forcing them to endure the elements\nuntil help arrived.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe waves were felt inside the boat. In the rubber boat alone, we\nwere hit by waves for three hours. The wind and waves were large and\nhigh,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
He mentioned that the ship had been swaying due to the impact of the\nwaves, but the tilting happened extremely rapidly as the hull shifted to\nthe left, prompting him to hold on tightly to protect himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ship tilted, just tilted. The tilting was very fast because the\nposition had already shifted to the left,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He admitted he did not know for certain the condition of all the\npassengers who were still in their cabins when the ship began to tilt,\nbut based on his observations, the number of people who managed to reach\nthe rubber boats were men.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were many more. It seemed like many, because those who came\nout seemed to be just drivers, only men. Those in the cabins likely\ncould not get out yet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Ahmad is a native of Surabaya currently residing in Banjarbaru. He\nwas in the process of transporting a bus unit to Kalimantan after\ncollecting it from Surabaya when he became one of the passengers who\nsuccessfully escaped the incident.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/survivor-recounts-moments-before-virgo-transport-8-capsized-1789314939", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }