Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan (ANTARA) – The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) and a joint team are informing coastal communities in Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, and around Java Island to report any sightings of missing victims from the Virgo Transport 8 ferry accident.
Head of the Banjarmasin Class A Search and Rescue (SAR) Office and the SAR Mission Coordinator, I Putu Sudayana, on Tuesday said the information dissemination with coastal communities is part of the SAR effort, running alongside the joint team’s search operations at the wreck of the vessel, which sank in the Java Sea.
The agency is also broadcasting information to vessels via electronic alerts and maritime notices, ensuring that any party encountering a victim can immediately notify the SAR team to expedite the evacuation process.
“Information has been disseminated across coastal areas stretching from Central Kalimantan to West Kalimantan; meanwhile, in Java, the outreach covers the region from Surabaya to Semarang, Central Java,” Sudayana noted.
According to him, these measures aim to widen the reach of search-related information, allowing victims found outside the primary operational zone to be quickly identified and assisted by the SAR team.
Regarding the 10th day of SAR operations at the accident site, Sudayana reported that weather conditions deteriorated on Tuesday afternoon, with wave heights rising to between 2 and 2.5 meters starting around 14:00 Central Indonesian Time (WITA).
“In the morning, the joint diving team successfully recovered the bodies of three victims. However, only one dive sortie was conducted in the afternoon, yielding no results. We hope the next search phase will produce better outcomes,” he remarked.
Addressing concerns that victims’ remains could be swept away after divers broke parts of the vessel’s windows, Sudayana said the victims were found inside compartments with relatively weak currents, making it unlikely they would be carried away.
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Translator: Tumpal Andani, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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