Indonesian divers struggle to reach capsized ferry as 129 remain missing
The search now involves 1,100 personnel across 17 ships and five aircraft, according to officials
Divers have been unable to reach the wreck of a capsized Indonesian ferry five days after it went down in the Java Sea, Indonesian officials said. About 60 divers from the navy and the national search and rescue agency have so far been unable to access the submerged vessel, according to Arianto Ardi, head of operations for the agency's Banjarmasin office.
The search operation involves 1,100 personnel working 12-hour shifts across 17 ships and five aircraft. Rescuers say the ferry's enclosed hull design, built to carry both vehicles and passengers, has made it especially difficult to get inside. Arianto said the ship likely has two or three decks, with vehicles below and passengers above, which would have made evacuation difficult when it capsized.
The ship's owner, PT Virgo Karya Shipping, began a legally mandated salvage operation on Friday to right the vessel, running alongside the ongoing rescue effort.
The Virgo Transport 8, a 4,277-ton roll-on/roll-off ferry, capsized in bad weather about 800 kilometers east-northeast of Jakarta on Sunday while sailing from Surabaya to Banjarmasin. This voyage should have taken about 20 hours.
Six people were found dead, and 108 were rescued that day, a toll that has not changed since. The ship has since sunk to the seabed.