Indonesian rescuers were searching Sunday for 140 people from a passenger ship that went missing in the Java Sea after 103 others were evacuated one of whom died a search and rescue official said.
The Virgo Transport 8, carrying 243 passengers lost contact early Sunday during bad weather while sailing from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan the search and rescue agency confirmed.
I Putu Sudayana the head of the agency's Banjarmasin office, said 103 people had been evacuated using different vessels with some being transported to a port in East Java. He did not specify what happened to the ship itself.
Rescue teams, ships and a helicopter have been deployed to the vessel's last known position to continue the search for the remaining passengers.
Indonesia is an archipelago of roughly 17,000 islands depends heavily on ferries for transportation as sea travel remains cheaper and more accessible than flights. However the inconsistent enforcement of safety standards has contributed to a relatively high rate of maritime accidents in the country.
