BANJARMASIN, Indonesia, Sept 14 — At least six people died and another 129 are still missing after an Indonesian passenger ship capsized in the Java Sea during bad weather early on Sunday, the search and rescue agency said.
Crews managed to rescue 108 people from the Virgo Transport 8 ship and were still searching for any other survivors, the agency added.
At a rescue centre, passenger Rinto Arahab said he held onto the ships railings after it flipped over, then managed to climb to a higher point on the stricken vessel as it tossed and turned in the water.
"I felt resigned. I could only pray for my safety,” he told Reuters in the South Kalimantan city of Banjarmasin, where the ship had been heading before it lost contact with authorities.
Families of passengers also gathered in the city, waiting for news.
One woman, who gave her name as Putri, said she had been on the phone with her husband Herman who was on the boat before they lost reception.
The ship set sail with 243 people, including 30 crew members, from the East Java city of Surabaya on Saturday, the search and rescue agency said.
A passing helicopter reported the ship had capsized, transport minister Dudy Purwagandhi told a press conference. The cause was still being investigated, he added.
The search-and-rescue agency earlier said the ship had sunk.
Rescued passengers had been taken to other ships and some of them would be taken to an East Java port, I Putu Sudayana, the head of the agency's Banjarmasin office, said in a video statement.
Meanwhile, in a separate report, I Putu Sudayana said more than 600 Indonesian rescuers were searching for the 129 people still missing from the ship that was travelling from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, with the death toll steady at six.
"We have continued the search for the missing since early in the morning. We are deploying 622 personnel and around 12 ships," he told Reuters.
In a video shared by the rescue agency, a large red-and-black ship lies capsized and partially submerged in choppy blue water, with its red-painted underside visible above the surface.
Two small boats, each carrying people, were seen floating near the capsized ship amid rough water.
On Sunday, Edy Prakoso, another official at the national rescue agency, said the ship leaned heavily to one side after strong waves hit its starboard side.
A passing helicopter reported the vessel had capsized, Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said on Sunday, with the cause still being investigated.
Indonesia relies on ferries across its 17,000 islands, where sea travel is cheaper and more accessible than flying, and there have been numerous accidents.
In separate incidents last month, two ferries carrying hundreds of passengers caught fire in waters. Five people died when a ferry caught fire off Madura island, while one person died in a fire on a ferry travelling from the tourist island of Bali.
