129 Missing After Ferry Capsizes in Java Sea

At least six people have died and another 129 are still missing after a passenger ship capsized in the Java Sea due to bad weather, according to the Indonesian search and rescue agency.

"Teams managed to rescue 108 people from the vessel Virgo Transport 8 and continued searching for other survivors," the agency added.

At a rescue center, passenger Rinto Arahab recounted that he clung to the ship's railings after it capsized, managing to climb to a higher point of the damaged unit as it violently shook in the water.

"I felt resigned," he told Reuters in the city of Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, where the ship was headed before losing contact with authorities. "I could only pray for my safety," he added.

Families of the passengers also gathered in the city awaiting news. A woman, who identified herself as Putri, said she was talking on the phone with her husband Herman, who was on the ship, before they lost signal. "After that there was no more contact, we couldn't reach him," she said.

The vessel departed on Saturday, September 12, with 243 people on board, including 30 crew members, from the city of Surabaya, East Java, according to the search and rescue agency.

A helicopter passing through the area reported that the vessel had capsized, Minister of Transport, Dudy Purwagandhi, said at a press conference, adding that the cause is still under investigation.

The search and rescue agency had previously said the vessel had sunk.

Rescued passengers were transferred to other vessels and some of them would be taken to a port in East Java, I Putu Sudayana, head of the agency's Banjarmasin office, said in a video statement.

Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands, relies heavily on ferries for transport, as sea routes are more affordable and accessible than air transport.