Indonesia Ferry Carrying 240 Loses Contact, Search Underway

Indonesian rescuers launched a search operation Sunday after the passenger ship Virgo Transport 8 lost contact in the Java Sea while traveling from Surabaya to Banjarmasin on Borneo. The vessel was carrying about 240 people, with one report putting the total at 243, and its last known position was roughly 148 kilometers from Banjarmasin. Authorities said the ship’s operator reported that it had encountered bad weather before communications failed. Rescue teams were dispatched, and no casualties had been reported immediately.