Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan (ANTARA) – The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) has extended the search and rescue operation for victims of Virgo Transport 8 ferry by another seven days, as the operation entered its 14th day.
Previously, the agency had extended the operation by seven days following the accident on September 13.
“The operation has entered its 14th day. We have decided to extend it for another seven days, but we will evaluate it every three days,” Basarnas Director of Operations Commodore Yudhi Bramantyo Nur Sasongko said at a press conference on Saturday (September 26).
The evaluations will be conducted every three days during the extended SAR operation to determine the next steps in the search.
On the 14th day of the SAR operation, Basarnas withdrew the KN SAR Pacitan, which had been used as a tender vessel in the Java Sea, back to Trisakti Port, Banjarmasin.
“We will replace it with the KN SAR Purworejo, which recently arrived from Tanjung Pinang,” Yudhi explained.
According to him, the replacement is aimed at strengthening the SAR operation for the Virgo Transport 8 as it enters another seven-day extension.
Yudhi emphasized that the operation would be evaluated periodically during the extension to assess the progress of the search for the victims of Virgo Transport 8.
On the 14th day of the SAR operation, the joint SAR team recovered 11 more bodies from the vessel.
These bodies included four recovered through diving operations in the wreck in the Java Sea, and seven recovered from the waters of Central Kalimantan, consisting of four in Sukamara District, two in Seruyan District, and one in Sungai Cabang, Pangkalan Bun.
Until the 14th day of the SAR operation, at 20.00 local time on Saturday, Basarnas confirmed that 172 victims had been found, consisting of 108 survivors and 64 fatalities, while 71 victims remained missing out of the 243 people listed in the ferry manifest.
Related news: Search team recovers 11 more bodies after ship sinks in Java Sea
Translator: Tumpal Andani, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Bayu Prasetyo
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