Indonesia’s Ferry Survivor Saw Ship Overturn In Minutes, Then Waited 10 Hours For Rescue

An Indonesian ferry overturned in less than 10 minutes after being hit by waves as high as 3 to 4 metres, a survivor told Reuters.

Six people died and 129 were still missing on Tuesday as rescuers searched the Java Sea in rough seas and strong winds. About 234 people were on the Virgo Transport 8 when it capsized.

Rizky Apriansyah, a waiter on the ferry, was asleep on the top deck when four friends woke him at about 1 a.m. on Sunday. They told him to take a life jacket.

The ferry was already leaning about 30 degrees to the left, Rizky said.

He and his friends ran out of their room. Rizky said he saw 3 to 4 metre waves hit the ferry several times, making it lean further.

He said no alarm was sounded. He was worried that other passengers might not know what was happening.

Virgo Karya Shipping, the ferry company, told local media it could not comment on the alarm because it first needed to check with the crew who were on board at the time.

Rizky and his four friends were soon in the water. They held on to a floating 12-kg cooking gas cylinder about 15 metres from the ferry. They watched the ferry overturn.

The five then spent about 10 hours in the water before another ship saw them and rescued them.

The Virgo Transport 8 was travelling from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin on the island of Borneo. The trip is about 510 km and normally takes around 20 hours.

The ferry left Surabaya port on Saturday afternoon and was reported missing on Sunday morning.

Authorities later found it upside down about 80 nautical miles, or nearly 150 km, from the Banjarmasin port.

Rizky said the ferry had been moving through high waves since it left Surabaya. He felt overwhelmed and exhausted while waiting to be rescued.

His eyes were still red when he spoke to Reuters, and he had minor wounds on parts of his body.

Rizky said he was traumatised by what happened and would not work at sea again.

References: Reuters, Hindustantimes