JAKARTA, Sept 20 (Reuters) – Indonesian officials will continue their search on Monday for over a hundred people who are still missing after a passenger ship sank in the Java Sea last week. Currently, the confirmed death toll stands at 10, as reported by the rescue agency on Sunday.
The ship, Virgo Transport 8, was carrying 243 people, including 30 crew members, when it overturned due to bad weather on September 13, during its 20-hour journey from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan.
“We hope the weather at the site will be good tomorrow so that we can evacuate more victims trapped inside the ship,” said I Putu Sudayana, an official from the national rescue agency, during a press conference.
The operation on Sunday faced challenges due to strong currents, he mentioned.
On Monday, the agency plans to use a remotely operated vehicle to assist divers during the search and recovery efforts, Putu added.
Divers managed to recover one additional body from the ship's hull on Sunday after locating three victims on Friday. As of now, 125 passengers remain unaccounted for, while 108 individuals have survived.
Officials stated on Saturday that the recovery operation will be extended for another week due to the large number of missing people and the expected duration of the salvage operation to right the ship.