12 Elite Divers Deployed for Day 8 Search for Virgo Transport 8 Victims

Banjarmasin, VIVA – The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) has focused 1arg 12 elite divers to continue the search for victims of the Virgo Transport 8 accident who remain missing in the Java Sea, as underwater operations enter their eighth day on Sunday, 20 September 2026.

Basarnas Director of Operations, Rear Admiral TNI Yudhi Bramantyo Nur Sasongko, stated that the 12 divers are joint personnel selected from various elements of the SAR team following a team adjustment and refreshment process. Consequently, these 12 divers do not represent the total number of divers involved in the overall SAR operation.

“The divers prepared to continue the underwater operation have experience in handling several accidents, such as the SAR operations for the Lion Air and Sriwijaya Air plane crashes several years ago,” he said at Trisakti Port, Banjarmasin, as reported on Sunday, 20 September 2026.

He explained that the refreshment of the team was not due to a shortage of personnel, but because several vessel elements that previously supported the diving operation had to return to base for personnel rotation and to carry out other duties.

“Basarnas is also preparing replacement elements to maintain underwater search capabilities,” he added.

He noted that the reduction in divers included personnel from KRI I Gusti Ngurah Rai, and KRI Pulau Fani is also returning to its homebase. A replacement vessel will be brought in from KRI Nala, which is scheduled to arrive tomorrow on the eighth day of the SAR operation.

Basarnas has deployed the TB Jaya Dragon, which will operate alongside the 12 elite divers to strengthen the underwater operations previously conducted by 20 Indonesian Navy divers, while awaiting a decision regarding the salvage team’s next steps for the ship’s hull.

“The hope is that the available personnel will reinforce what was previously carried out by the Navy divers. We are also awaiting a decision on what the salvage team will do regarding the wreck. Naturally, we are striving to conduct the underwater search,” he said.

He expressed hope that the weather conditions, which have been favourable in recent days, will persist so that the diving team can execute underwater operations to their maximum potential and achieve search results similar to those achieved by the Navy divers previously.