Indonesia Searches for 129 Missing After Ferry Capsizes in Java Sea.

Indonesia Searches for 129 Missing After Ferry Capsizes in Java Sea.

Six people have died and 108 have been rescued after a passenger ferry carrying 243 people overturned in rough waters off Indonesia._

Indonesian rescuers are searching for 129 people still missing after the Virgo Transport 8 ferry capsized in the Java Sea on Sunday.

The vessel was travelling from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan when its captain reported that it was listing in rough seas, with waves reaching up to three metres.

Contact with the ferry was lost at about 2 a.m. local time. Authorities later received reports that the vessel had overturned in waters near the Masalembo Islands, about 148 kilometres from Banjarmasin.

The ferry was carrying 243 people — 213 passengers and 30 crew members — as well as 89 vehicles.

By Monday, rescuers had recovered six bodies and rescued 108 people. More than 600 personnel, supported by 17 vessels, aircraft, helicopters and specialised underwater teams, were involved in the search.

Rough seas and strong winds have made the operation difficult, with authorities deploying underwater drones and divers as they continue searching around the overturned vessel.

Families of passengers have gathered at ports in Banjarmasin and Surabaya awaiting information about relatives still missing.

The cause of the accident has not yet been established.

The 119-metre Virgo Transport 8, built in Japan in 1987, was sold to Indonesia last year. The country, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, relies heavily on ferries for travel between its islands and has recorded several deadly maritime accidents in recent years.