Ferry capsizes in Java Sea; about 130 missing as rescue widens

A passenger ferry overturned in Indonesia's Java Sea on Sunday, leaving roughly 130 passengers and crew unaccounted for, according to search and rescue officials.

At least 107 people were pulled from the water alive, and the bodies of six passengers were recovered, as the search operation widened around the area where the vessel was last in contact.

The ship, the Virgo Transport 8, was carrying more than 240 people on a voyage from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan province, on the island of Borneo.

Before the disaster, the captain had radioed a report of rough conditions, with waves reaching as high as 3 metres (10 feet), and said the vessel was listing, according to I Putu Sudayana, who heads the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office.

The captain then issued a distress call. Authorities later received information indicating that the ferry had overturned.

The rescue agency in Banjarmasin said it was notified about two hours after contact with the Virgo Transport 8 was lost, at around 2 a.m. on Sunday.

Aerial footage from the scene showed the capsized hull of the passenger ship, while rescuers aboard aircraft scanned the surrounding waters with binoculars. Survivors were brought ashore at Trisakti port in Banjarmasin, where they were met by search and rescue teams.

The search continued around the vessel's last known position as officials worked to account for those still missing.