BANJARMASIN (TABIRkota) – A joint Search and Rescue (SAR) team successfully recovered the bodies of 14 victims from the KM Virgo Transport 8—which sank in the Masalembo waters of the Java Sea—during operations conducted on Thursday (Sept 24), marking the twelfth day of the search.
According to the Head of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), Air Chief Marshal Mohammad Syafi’i, the 14 bodies were retrieved from the shipwreck by a team of divers comprising the Basarnas Special Group (BSG), the Indonesian Navy (TNI AL), and other SAR support elements.
"All victims were transported to the KN SAR Pacitan and subsequently airlifted to Syamsudin Noor Air Force Base in Banjarbaru using a Basarnas HR-3604 helicopter and an Indonesian Navy Panther helicopter," he stated at the command post at Trisakti Port, Banjarmasin.
Upon arrival in Banjarmasin, he noted, the bodies were handed over to the relevant authorities for identification and further processing.
"With the recovery of these 14 victims, a total of 150 victims have been accounted for as of Thursday (Sept 24), comprising 108 survivors and 42 deceased individuals," he said.
He added that the joint SAR team would continue to conduct maximum search efforts, particularly through diving operations inside the ship’s hull.
"Every accessible gap and section of the ship will continue to be examined in order to locate any remaining victims inside the KM Virgo Transport 8 wreckage," he added.
SAR personnel from Basarnas, the military (TNI), the National Police (Polri), and maritime volunteers remain on full alert, continuing an intensive search for the 93 other passengers who are still listed as missing.
Previously, the KM Virgo Transport 8, carrying 243 passengers, was reported to have lost contact in the Java Sea early Sunday morning (Sept 13) around 2:00 AM, after departing from Surabaya for Banjarmasin on Saturday (Sept 12). (ra)
