Malaysia offers sympathy to Indonesia after Virgo Transport 8 capsizes in Java Sea

At a Malaysia Day ceremony, Farzamie Zarkawi, the acting head of Malaysia’s embassy in Jakarta, offered condolences to Indonesia for the loss of the passenger ship Virgo Transport 8 in the Java Sea. The vessel, en route from Surabaya to Banjarmasin, disappeared on September 13 and was later confirmed sunk, with 243 individuals on board. According to Mohammad Syafii of the National Search and Rescue Agency, rescue teams have rescued 108 survivors, while six bodies have been recovered and identified, leaving 129 people still unaccounted for.

The Disaster Victim Identification team of the South Kalimantan Regional Police has named the six deceased, including Nurul Rian Hidayat and Deny Ridzal Saputra. All rescued passengers and the deceased have been taken to Banjarmasin for further care and processing.