Indonesian divers recover 3 bodies from capsized ferry as salvage operation begins

BANJARMASIN, Indonesia (AP) — Rescue teams in Indonesia on Friday recovered three bodies from a capsized ferry while preparing to salvage the wreckage of the accident Sunday, bringing the confirmed death toll to nine with 126 people still missing, officials said.

Improved weather on Friday allowed divers to enter the wreck and recover the bodies of two men and a woman. The bodies will be transferred to Banjarmasin, said Col. Galih Nurna Putra, commander of the Banjarmasin Naval Base.

The Virgo Transport 8 was carrying 243 people when its captain issued a distress call Sunday, reporting the vessel was listing in rough seas with waves reaching 3 meters (10 feet) while en route from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan on Borneo island.

Authorities lost contact with the ferry around 2 a.m. Sunday and learned about two hours later it had overturned in the Masalembo waters of the Java Sea, about 148 kilometers (92 miles) from Banjarmasin.

After several days of poor weather including strong winds, high waves and currents that reached 12.6 kph (7.8 mph), divers and members of the Indonesian navy’s special forces unit reached the wreck Thursday.

Around 10 a.m. Friday, a team of 17 divers descended to the ship using guide ropes installed the previous day. They broke a window and entered one at a time before spotting silhouettes of the victims and beginning recovery efforts, Putra said.

According to the manifest, the vessel carried 213 passengers and 30 crew members, though passenger totals often differ from official records in Indonesia. The 119-meter (390-foot) ferry, built in Japan in 1987 and operated there until last year, was also transporting 89 vehicles.

A total of 108 people were rescued, said Yudhi Bramantyo, operations director at Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency.

“We’ve discussed for the next steps and have prepared all the equipment needed to begin salvage operations,” Bramantyo said in a video briefing.

The overturned ferry drifted about 453 meters (1,486 feet) southeast from its original position and rested upside down on the seabed at a depth of 29 meters (95 feet), compared with about 21 meters (69 feet) at the initial sinking site, Bramantyo said.

The ferry’s stern is embedded in the sea floor, while the bow remains about 5 to 6 meters (16 to 20 feet) below the surface. The stern section lies at a depth of about 15 meters (49 feet). Authorities said they have not detected fuel leakage or signs of oil pollution around the wreck.

Indonesia is an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands where ferries are a common method of travel. Disasters occur regularly, with weak safety enforcement often blamed.

Authorities on Thursday ended an unsuccessful, 10-day search for eight people, including five photojournalists, who disappeared while traveling by speedboat to Anak Krakatau volcano to report on its eruption.

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Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.