Indonesia passenger ship with 243 people reported missing at sea, agency says

An Indonesian passenger ship carrying 243 people was reported missing after losing contact in the Java Sea early on Sunday during bad weather, the country's search and rescue agency said in a statement.

The Virgo Transport 8 ship set sail on Saturday from the East Java city of Surabaya to the South Kalimantan city of Banjarmasin before losing contact, the agency said.

"At the time of this statement, the ship cannot be contacted and its whereabouts are unknown," the agency said.

Rescuers have launched a search, deploying a team toward its last known position, the agency added.

Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands, relies heavily on ferries as a key mode of transportation, with sea routes ⁠more ​affordable and readily available than air travel.

However, ​safety standards are not always rigorously enforced, resulting in a relatively high accident rate.

(Reuters)

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