Basarnas Reveals Virgo Transport 8 Tilted Due to Waves Hitting Right Hull

Basarnas has stated that waves hitting the right hull were among the causes of the tilting of the Virgo Transport 8 vessel, which met with an accident in the Java Sea while travelling from Surabaya, East Java, to Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, on Sunday.

“The captain of the Virgo vessel reported that the tilting was caused by waves hitting the right hull. This is information we received directly from the captain of the Virgo during search operations, specifically regarding vessels that lost contact or sank,” said Edy Prakoso, Deputy of Operations and Preparedness at Basarnas, in Jakarta.

He explained that, based on data from the Virgo, there were 243 people on board, consisting of 213 passengers and 30 crew members. This figure serves as the basis for the ongoing search and rescue operations.

“Regarding the latest developments, I can report from the field as of 15:30 that approximately 113 victims have been evacuated, with 98 survivors and six fatalities. On the TB Mauhaw, there were 16 people, 15 of whom survived and one died; on the TB TCP, there were six people, with one survivor and five fatalities,” he said.

Edy continued, noting that from the KM Haida, 69 people are safe, while 22 people from the Cahaya Bahari fishing vessel were transferred to the Intandaya vessel, and one person survived from the Sri Asih fishing vessel.

“Consequently, 114 victims have been rescued, with 98 survivors and six fatalities. Approximately 129 people remain missing,” he explained.

Basarnas has confirmed that it is continuing to maximise efforts to evaluate and rescue the victims of the Virgo vessel, particularly the 129 passengers still being searched for, by utilising all available sea and air assets currently in the field.