Key facts
- The death toll from the Virgo Transport 8 ferry sinking has reached 71.
- 64 people remain missing.
- Five more bodies were recovered on Monday, the 16th day of the search operation.
- The ferry was carrying 243 people and 89 vehicles.
- The vessel lost contact on September 13 and was found capsized later that day.
The death toll from the sinking of the Virgo Transport 8 ferry in Indonesia's Java Sea has risen to 71, with 64 people still unaccounted for. The grim milestone was reached on Monday, the 16th day of the search operation, as divers recovered five more bodies from within the sunken vessel.
According to Basarnas chief Mohammad Syafii, the five victims were found by a joint diving team comprising the National Search and Rescue Agency's Special Group, Indonesian Navy personnel, and other SAR units. The bodies were brought ashore for identification and further handling by authorities.
The Virgo Transport 8 was en route from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, carrying 243 people and 89 vehicles. The vessel lost contact around 2 a.m. local time on September 13, was found capsized later that day, and subsequently sank. As of Monday evening, 179 individuals from the manifest had been located, including 108 survivors.