Death toll from capsized ship in Indonesia rises to 20 as search continues for 115 missing passengers

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JAKARTA: The official death toll from a passenger ship that capsized and sank in Indonesia's Java Sea rose to 20 on Wednesday (Sep 23), up from the previous 10, with rescuers expecting to find more bodies as the ongoing underwater search widens, officials said. 

The Virgo Transport 8 ferry was carrying 243 people, including 30 crew members, as well as an unknown number of vehicles, when it capsized in bad weather early on Sep 13 during a voyage from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan.

Coast guard and Navy personnel recovered eight bodies from inside the ship over the past three days, and also found two bodies that had been washed ashore in Central Kalimantan province around 253km from the location of the accident, head of National Rescue Agency Mohammad Syafii said. 

As of Wednesday, the total death toll stood at 20, with 115 people still missing and 108 survivors, he said.         

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Rescuers found five bodies on Monday, four on Tuesday and one on Wednesday morning, Syafii added. 

Wednesday's search would focus on looking for more bodies in the ship's cabins, said I Putu Sudayana, head of the Banjarmasin rescue agency.

Divers managed to break the windows of the cabins on Tuesday but could not enter due to murky water and strong currents, making it impossible to retrieve bodies that had already been spotted.

"Our underwater search is focused on the ship's hull. That is where we are concentrating because we have found many passengers trapped inside the cabins," he said.

After that, if possible, rescuers will shift the search to the vehicles on the ferry, but it could prove challenging, with many appearing to be piled on top of each other. 

"This poses risks to the diving team," Putu said. "If it is feasible and safe, we will carry out the search."

Search and rescue operations have been extended until Sunday next week. Authorities said efforts to right the ship were underway, but it remained capsized on Wednesday. 

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