Update! Death Toll Rises to 6 in Virgo Transport 8 Ship Accident

Basarnas has reported preliminary data indicating that six people have died out of the 103 individuals evacuated following the accident involving the Virgo Transport 8, which was carrying 243 people in the Java Sea waters as of Sunday.

The Head of the Class A Search and Rescue Office in Banjarmasin, acting as SAR Mission Coordinator, I Putu Sudayana, stated in Banjarmasin on Sunday that the six deceased victims were evacuated by the vessels TB Mauhaw IX and TB TCP, while all victims evacuated from the MV Haida were reported safe.

TB Mauhaw IX evacuated 16 people, consisting of 15 survivors and one fatality, while TB TCP successfully rescued 38 people, with a breakdown of 33 survivors and five fatalities from the accident site.

Additionally, the MV Haida successfully evacuated 49 people from the Virgo Transport 8, all of whom were declared safe. This brings the total number of evacuated individuals to 103, comprising 97 survivors and six fatalities.

The Virgo Transport 8 was reported to have lost contact in the Java Sea waters on Sunday at 02:00 WITA, while sailing from Surabaya to Banjarmasin since Saturday, 12 September. Consequently, Basarnas has intensified search and rescue operations by deploying both air assets and joint SAR vessels.

The 16 individuals evacuated by TB Mauhaw IX, including one fatality, will be transported to Tuban Port according to the vessel’s captain. Meanwhile, the 87 individuals evacuated by TB TCP and MV Haida will be taken to Trisakti Port in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan.

Joint SAR operations via sea and air continue to sweep the accident site and search for other victims, as 140 people out of the total 243 on board the Virgo Transport 8 have not yet been included in the list of evacuated victims.