KRI Canopus to join search for Virgo Transport 8 victims: Basarnas

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2 hours ago

Banjarmasin, S Kalimantan (ANTARA) – The KRI Canopus warship will join the search for the victims of Virgo Transport 8 ship accident underwater on Tuesday, the third day of the operation, after bad weather hampered diving efforts.

Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) Chief Mohammad Syafii said divers, including personnel from the Indonesian Navy’s Kopaska special forces, Navy specialist diving teams and Basarnas, could not be deployed because the weather conditions remained unsafe.

“KRI Canopus is en route and will arrive on Tuesday morning to support underwater searches using its available technology as an alternative to diving, which has been limited by weather,” Syafii told journalists at the city of Banjarmasin’s Trisakti Port on Monday evening (Sept 14).

He added the KRI Canopus is equipped with an underwater drone, multibeam echo sounder, and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to detect and map the seabed while searching for victims and the vessel.

Basarnas said deploying KRI Canopus would strengthen the third-day SAR operation and expand underwater search capabilities, while divers remained ready to deploy once weather conditions allowed safe operations.

By 10 p.m. local time on Monday, Syafii confirmed 114 victims had been found, including 108 survivors and six dead, leaving 129 people missing from the 243 aboard.

Of the 114 victims found, 86 had arrived at Trisakti Port in Banjarmasin, including 85 survivors and one person who had died.

A second deceased victim was evacuated to Syamsudin Noor Air Base in Banjarbaru and handed over to the National Police’s DVI team for further medical examination.

One survivor was flown by a Basarnas helicopter to Syamsudin Noor Air Base, while 26 others were being evacuated to Trisakti Port, including 22 survivors and four dead.

Virgo Transport 8 was carrying 243 passengers and lost contact in the Masalembo waters of the Java Sea at around 2 a.m. local time Sunday, September 13, while sailing from Surabaya to Banjarmasin.