An urgent search operation is underway to find a missing passenger ship carrying 240 people in Indonesia.
Indonesian rescuers launched the operation on Sunday, September after the ship lost contact in the Java Sea while traveling from East Java to South Kalimantan on Borneo island, officials said.
Communication failure reported
The Search and Rescue Office in Banjarmasin, the capital of South Kalimantan province, said they received a report that the Virgo Transport 8 had experienced a communication failure while en route to the city from Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city in East Java province.
Initial information indicated the vessel's last known position was in the Java Sea, about 148 kilometers (92 miles) from a pier in Banjarmasin. The ship's manifest said it was carrying 241 passengers. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Rescue personnel dispatched
Arianto Ardi, operations chief at Banjarmasin's rescue agency, confirmed the loss of contact with the vessel and said rescue personnel had been dispatched to the area.
“We have established an operations post at Trisakti,” Arianto said.
Authorities said the ship's operator reported the incident after receiving information that the vessel had encountered bad weather.
This is a breaking news story - more to come.
