Indonesia ferry search: Divers retrieve three bodies, 126 people missing

Indonesian divers have begun salvage operations to retrieve bodies and right the passenger ferry that capsized in the Java Sea.

After strong currents and large waves limited rescue efforts for five days, authorities decided on Friday to right the ship to facilitate recovery operations.

An expert team has been brought in to assist the operation to right the ferry, local navy commander Galih Nurna Putra told reporters on Friday.

“The salvage operation is under way,” Galih said, adding that “there was an observation yesterday”.

Divers managed to enter the ship on Friday. They found the bodies of two men and a woman, officials said. But strong currents forced a halt to the underwater search.

Nine people have now been confirmed dead, with 108 survivors, but 126 passengers and crew members remain missing.

Specialist divers capable of operating at depths exceeding 100 metres (328 feet) have been deployed.

Rough weather previously hindered 1,100 rescuers from searching for missing people.

Galih said the salvage team aims to tow the vessel into shallower waters before righting it.

The head of the Banjarmasin search and rescue agency, I Putu Sudayana, said teams would be able to resume the recovery of bodies once the vessel is righted.

Before that process is completed, divers face risks if they try to enter the capsized ship, he said.

The operation will ⁠be led by the ship’s owner, as Indonesian law requires, and backed by the rescue agency, the navy, and maritime police, said Sudayana.

The capsized ferry has complicated rescue efforts as it remains unstable due to trapped air and empty compartments, potentially causing the hull to shift unexpectedly.

Lying roughly 80 nautical miles (148km) from the command centre at Trisakti port in Banjarmasin, the vessel remains difficult to access, Arianto Ardi, another official at the rescue agency, told the Reuters news agency.

The Virgo Transport 8 was carrying 243 people on a 20-hour voyage from ⁠Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan when it capsized in bad weather early on Sunday.

Indonesia relies on ferries across its 17,000 islands, where sea travel is cheaper and more accessible than flying.