One dead, 102 rescued from Indonesian ferry that went missing in Java Sea

13 September 2026, 05: 11 BST. Updated 1 hour ago.

Key points

• One person has died and 102 have been rescued from a stricken Indonesian passenger ferry in the Java Sea, an official remarked.
• The Indonesian archipelago has more than 17, 000 islands and ferries are a common form of transport.
• A search and rescue operation was introduced after contact was lost with the Virgo Transport 8 ship.
• The incident comes after a separate ferry in Indonesia caught fire off Madura island last month, killing five.

For context, a search and rescue operation was introduced after contact was lost with the Virgo Transport 8 ship. It was carrying 243 residents, as it encountered bad weather, Indonesia's search and rescue agency noted. The search for the remaining passengers is ongoing.

For context, the ferry was travelling from Surabaya to the south Kalimantan city of Banjarmasin and was last documented to be concerning 150km south of Banjarmasin around 02: 00 local time on Sunday.

Search and rescue ships and a helicopter have been deployed to the scene and all other vessels in that area of the Java Sea have been alerted to report signs of any passengers.

For context, the incident comes after a separate ferry in Indonesia caught fire off Madura island last month, killing five.

Notably, the Indonesian archipelago has more than 17, 000 islands and ferries are a common form of transport.

For now, one dead, 102 rescued from Indonesian ferry that went missing in Java remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.