JAKARTA (Bernama): The death toll from the sinking of the Virgo Transport 8 in Indonesia’s Java Sea has risen to 71 after search and rescue (SAR) teams recovered five more bodies on Monday, while 64 people remain missing.
The recovery was carried out on the 16th day of the operation by a joint diving team comprising the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) Special Group, Indonesian Navy personnel and other SAR units.
"The five victims were found by the joint diving team inside the sunken vessel,” Basarnas chief Mohammad Syafii said, according to Antara news agency.
He added that the bodies were brought ashore for identification and further handling by the relevant authorities.
The Virgo Transport 8, carrying 243 people and 89 vehicles from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, lost contact at about 2 am local time on Sept 13. The vessel was found capsized later that day before sinking beneath the surface several days later.
Mohamad Syafii said that as of 6 pm local time on Monday, 179 of the 243 people listed on the vessel’s manifest had been found, including 108 survivors. -- BERNAMA
