Indonesia, Sept. 15 -- Five crew members of the KM Virgo Transport 8 survived a ship accident in the Java Sea by clinging to an empty 3-kilogram LPG cylinder and drifting for about nine hours before a tugboat rescued them.

Crew member Akmal said he and four colleagues used the cylinder for support because they could not find a lifeboat or inflatable raft after abandoning the vessel.

"Five of us held onto one LPG cylinder. It was an empty 3-kilogram cylinder," Akmal said after being evacuated and arriving at Trisakti Port in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, on Tuesday.

Akmal was among 22 survivors evacuated Tuesday by a Rigid Buoyancy Boat (RBB) from Banjarmasin Naval Base after being transferred from KRI Nala at the site.

They had been ...