Search Operation for KM Virgo Victims Extended by 7 Days
The search and rescue (SAR) operation for the 126 victims who remain missing following the accident involving Motor Vessel (KM) Virgo Transport 8 has been extended. The SAR operation to find the victims will be prolonged for the next seven days.
“Today marks the seventh day. We declare that we will extend this operation for the next seven days,” said the Director of Operations at Basarnas, Rear Admiral TNI Yudhi Bramantyo Nur Sasongko, during a press conference regarding the seventh-day progress of the KM Virgo Transport 8 accident at Trisakti Port, Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, as reported by Antara on Saturday (19/09/2026).
This decision was made after coordination with stakeholders supporting the SAR operation, as well as the salvage team (shipwreck removal) coordinated by the ship’s owner.
“The salvage operation that will be carried out may take a long time, perhaps longer than we imagine. We cannot specify when, but it is clearly being discussed by the expert team from the ship owner’s side,” he stated.
Basarnas is extending the SAR operation while awaiting the results of discussions by the salvage team and the steps to be taken in handling the shipwreck, ensuring that search and rescue operations can continue according to developments in the field. During the seventh day of the SAR operation, the joint team did not find any new victims in the search for the KMP Virgo Transport 8 accident.
As of Saturday night, 21:00 WITA, Basarnas confirmed that 117 victims have been found, consisting of 108 survivors and nine fatalities, while 126 people remain missing out of a total of 243 individuals listed on the KMP Virgo Transport 8 manifest.
As previously reported, KMP Virgo Transport 8 was carrying 24 ability 243 people when it sailed from Surabaya, East Java, to Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, on 12 September 2026. The vessel was reported to have encountered bad weather and lost contact on 13 September 2026 at approximately 02:00 WITA, before being found later that same day capsized in the Masalembo waters, Java Sea.