129 Passengers Still Missing, Deputy Transport Minister Suspects They Are Trapped Inside KM Virgo

Deputy Minister of Transport Suntana suspects that the 129 victims of the KM Virgo Transport 8 who have not yet been found are currently trapped inside the vessel.

To date, 114 victims have been located, six of whom have been confirmed dead, while 12\9 others remain missing. Suntana stated that the joint SAR (Search and Rescue) team is continuing various efforts to locate the hundreds of victims as quickly as possible.

“Based on the manifest data we received from the port of origin, there is data regarding the passengers in question; therefore, our SAR team aims to accelerate the search to recover victims who are estimated to still be inside the ship,” Suntana said during a press conference on Tuesday (15/9) night.

Separately, the Head of the Banjarmasin Class A Search and Rescue Office, I Putu Sudayana, stated that this search operation is being focused on the area surrounding the shipwreck.

“This search is more focused on the site of the incident. Yesterday, we conducted searches within a very wide radius, but the results for the victims were negative, as none were found. Therefore, we will focus more on the target, which is the hull of the ship, KMP Virgo Transport 8,” he explained.

Putu noted that the fleet deployed for today’s search operation remains the same as previous days. This includes the KRI Canopus, which possesses technology for underwater searching.

“There is one truly sophisticated vessel, belonging to the Indonesian Navy, which is the KRI Canopus. It is equipped with an echosounder and an underwater drone. This is functional and useful for searching both on the surface and beneath the water’s surface,” he said.

KM Virgo Transport 8 was reported to have lost contact in the Java Sea waters on Sunday (13/9) at 02:00 WITA, while sailing from Surabaya to Banjarmasin since Saturday (12/9). The KM Virgo is reported to have been carrying 243 people, including passengers and crew members.