Online Reporter
Another 130 people are still missing after contact was lost with the Virgo Transport8 ship, as it encountered bad weather.
The ferry was travelling from Surabaya to the South Kalimantan city of Banjarmasin and was last reported to be about 150km (93 miles) south of Banjarmasin around 02:00 on Sunday (18:00 GMT on Saturday).
Ships and a helicopter have been deployed to the scene, with 280 personnel taking part in a search and rescue operation. All vessels in the area of the Java Sea have been alerted to report any signs of passengers.
There were 213 passengers and 30 crew members on board the 390ft (119m) ferry.
The ship left Surabaya at 10:33 on Saturday and was scheduled to arrive in Banjarmasin on Sunday at 14:00, according to data from two maritime monitoring sites. Authorities received the initial distress report at 04:10.
A joint task force involving Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, navy, maritime police and other parties has been set up for the rescue effort.
Rusmilawati, a resident of Banjarmasin, went to the port to seek information about eight relatives who were passengers on the ship. They were travelling back to Banjarmasin after visiting the tombs of several Islamic scholars in Java.
“They flew there initially, but for the return journey they wanted to try travelling by ship,” she told BBC Indonesia.
As of Sunday afternoon local time, Rusmilawati said she had not received any information from officials about whether her relatives had been rescued.
The family last heard from one of the relatives through a WhatsApp status update. In the post, the relative wrote: “The waves are really frightening tonight. Or is this just what it’s normally like travelling by ship, rocking and crashing against the waves?”
“Hopefully they’re safe,” Rusmilawati said.
