Indonesia identifies 10th body from sunken ferry as search for 125 missing people continues
South Kalimantan's DVI team has begun identifying the 10th body recovered from the sunken KM Virgo Transport 8, as the search continues for 125 people still unaccounted for.
- The 10th body was recovered from inside KM Virgo Transport 8 on 20 September.
- The DVI team is comparing post-mortem findings with ante-mortem information from victims' families.
- Authorities extended the search operation by seven days for 125 unaccounted people.
The Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team of the South Kalimantan Police has begun identifying the 10th body recovered from KM Virgo Transport 8, which sank in the Java Sea earlier this month.
The body arrived at Bhayangkara Hospital in Banjarmasin on Sunday, 20 September, shortly after being recovered from inside the sunken vessel. South Kalimantan Police spokesman Commissioner Nur Khamid said the body was immediately handed over to the DVI team for identification.
The identification process will depend on the condition of the remains. Khamid said bodies that remain intact and can be readily recognised can be identified more quickly, while those that are difficult to recognise require further examination and comparison.
The DVI team will compare post-mortem findings from the body with ante-mortem information collected from the victims' families. Such information can include personal and medical data used to establish a victim's identity.
Body recovered from inside the sunken vessel
The 10th body was found at about 2.14pm local time on Sunday by divers from the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) Special Group (BSG), working with the joint search and rescue team.
The divers located the victim while searching inside the hull of KM Virgo Transport 8, which was lying on the seabed. The body was taken by boat to the KN SAR Kamajaya rescue vessel and subsequently transported by Basarnas helicopter HR 3601 to Sjamsudin Noor Air Base in Banjarbaru.
It was then taken to Bhayangkara Hospital in Banjarmasin for identification.
The latest recovery brought the number of people accounted for to 118: 108 survivors and 10 confirmed deaths. A further 125 people remained unaccounted for from the 243 people listed as being aboard the vessel.
Ferry was travelling from Surabaya to Banjarmasin
KM Virgo Transport 8 was travelling from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan when the accident occurred on 13 September.
According to Indonesia's Transport Ministry, the vessel departed Surabaya at 6.52am on 12 September 2026. Its manifest listed 243 people, comprising passengers and crew.
The vessel encountered bad weather in the Java Sea before losing contact during the early hours of 13 September. It was subsequently found overturned in waters around Masalembo.
The Transport Ministry said on the first day of the response that 107 people had been rescued alive and six had died. By the second day, the number of survivors had risen to 108.
The cause of the accident remains under investigation. The ministry has said the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) is responsible for determining what caused the vessel to capsize.
On 14 September, the ministry said KNKT investigators had begun collecting information on the vessel's specifications and interviewing survivors and crew members.
Search operation extended for another seven days
The search and rescue operation was extended for another seven days on 19 September, after the initial operation reached its seventh day.
Basarnas Director of Operations Rear Admiral Yudhi Bramantyo Nur Sasongko said the extension was agreed after coordination with agencies supporting the operation and the team preparing the salvage of the sunken vessel.
The salvage operation is being coordinated by the vessel's owner. Authorities said the process could take considerable time, and its timing would depend on technical discussions and the condition of the wreck.
Before the latest body was recovered, Basarnas and the Indonesian Navy had deployed dozens of professional divers to search around and inside the overturned vessel. Underwater operations have been complicated by conditions at the wreck and the need to conduct searches safely.
Basarnas also planned to use remotely operated vehicle (ROV) technology to obtain further information about the condition of the wreck.
The recovery of the 10th victim came as the extended search entered its eighth day. Authorities continue to search for the 125 people still unaccounted for while identification and repatriation procedures for recovered victims are carried out separately.
The incident is one of a series of maritime emergencies that have highlighted the importance of search, rescue and passenger-accounting procedures in Indonesia, an archipelagic country where sea transport connects many major population centres and islands.
In the Virgo case, authorities established a coordinated post at Trisakti Port in Banjarmasin to support rescue operations, medical assistance and passenger data collection.
