Afghanistan, Sept. 13 -- An Indonesian passenger ferry carrying 243 passengers and crew has gone missing in the Java Sea after losing contact during severe weather, prompting a large-scale search and rescue operation, Indonesian authorities said.
The ferry, identified as Virgo Transport 8, departed Surabaya in East Java late Saturday and was en route to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan when communication was lost at about 2:00 a.m. local time (1800 GMT Sunday). Indonesian search-and-rescue officials said the vessel was believed to be navigating rough seas approximately 80 nautical miles off Banjarmasin when contact disappeared.
I Putu Sudayana, head of the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office, said authorities received a distress report ab...