The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) deployed 12 experienced divers to continue the search for victims still missing from the KM Virgo Transport 8 accident in the Java Sea as the operation entered its eighth day on Sunday, September 20.
Basarnas Director of Operations First Admiral Yudhi Bramantyo Nur Sasongko said the 12 divers were selected from various diving units involved in the SAR operation following a personnel adjustment and rotation. He stressed that the deployment did not represent the total number of divers involved in the wider operation.
“The divers prepared to continue the underwater operations have experience handling major accidents, such as the SAR operations for the Lion Air and Sriwijaya Air crashes several years ago,” Yudhi said at Trisakti Port in Banjarmasin on Saturday evening.
The rotation was not prompted by a shortage of personnel. Several Indonesian Navy vessels supporting the diving operation had to return to their bases for crew changes and other duties.
“Basarnas is also preparing replacement units to maintain underwater search capabilities,” Yudhi said.
He said the departing divers had been operating from KRI I Gusti Ngurah Rai and KRI Pulau Fani, both of which had returned to their home bases. The replacement vessel KRI Nala was scheduled to arrive for the eighth day of the operation.
Basarnas also deployed the tugboat TB Jaya Dragon to support the 12 divers and continue underwater searches previously conducted by 20 Indonesian Navy divers.
“The hope is that the available personnel will reinforce the work already carried out by the Navy divers yesterday. We are also waiting for a decision on the actions the salvage team will take [regarding the wreck recovery operation]. Naturally, we are striving to continue the underwater search,” Yudhi said.
He added that weather conditions had been relatively favourable in recent days, allowing divers to conduct underwater operations more effectively.
“We hope the dive team deployed tonight can carry out the search optimally tomorrow, ensuring the SAR operation continues to yield progress despite adjustments to vessel and personnel assets during the mission,” he said.
One More Body Recovered from Wreckage
The search remained centred on the wreckage of KM Virgo Transport 8, which capsized in the waters of Masalembo in the Java Sea.
A joint SAR team involving Basarnas, the Indonesian military, the National Police and other agencies conducted underwater and surface searches. The divers focused on areas around and beneath the vessel, while other teams searched sectors where victims may have been carried by sea currents.
Arianto Ardi, Head of the Search and Rescue Operations Section in Banjarmasin, said the wreckage remained the primary focus of the operation.
“Regarding the search, the initial focus is on the KMP Virgo vessel itself, involving the deployment of joint SAR units—including personnel from Basarnas, the TNI (military), and the National Police, alongside other joint elements,” Arianto said on Sunday.
“Our main focus is searching at the site of the KMP Virgo itself by deploying divers from the Basarnas Special Group (BSG) to conduct underwater searches,” he added.
One more body was recovered from the vessel on Sunday. The victim was found by BSG divers and taken to KN SAR Kamajaya before being transported by helicopter to Syamsudin Noor Air Force Base in Banjarbaru for further processing and identification. The recovery brought the total number of people found during the operation to 118.
Of those found, 108 people survived while 10 died. A further 125 people remain missing from the 243 people listed on the vessel’s manifest.
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Search Expanded Beyond the Wreck
While underwater operations remain a key part of the mission, SAR teams are also continuing searches across surrounding sea sectors.
Arianto said the operation was not limited to the immediate vicinity of the wreck because currents could have carried missing victims away from the location where the vessel capsized.
“There are several other areas we suspect, or where it is possible, that the subjects of our search may have drifted into those sectors,” he said.
The KM Virgo Transport 8 was carrying 243 people when it departed Surabaya, East Java, for Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, on September 12. The vessel encountered bad weather and lost contact at around 2am WITA on September 13 before it was later located capsized in the Masalembo waters.
As the search continues, the joint SAR operation is maintaining underwater, surface and aerial efforts to locate the remaining 125 people. The operation is also being coordinated alongside preparations concerning the vessel’s salvage and recovery.
Recent reports have confirmed that divers are entering the wreckage as authorities continue efforts to reach areas where victims may remain.
