Originally published at The Crux
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Indonesian divers have begun salvage operations this weekend to retrieve bodies and right a passenger ferry that capsized in the Java Sea a week ago.
According to Basarnas, Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, the Virgo Transport 8 lost contact with its operator in the early hours of last Sunday, with 243 passengers and crew on board.
108 people were rescued, according to the operations director at Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency, but 126 people are still missing.
Divers recovered three bodies on Friday.
Contact was lost with the Virgo Transport8 ship in the early hours of Sunday, Sept. 13 as it encountered bad weather en route from Surabaya to the South Kalimantan city of Banjarmasin.
The vessel was last reported to be about 93 miles south of Banjarmasin when contact was lost.
Strong currents and large waves limited rescue efforts for five days, after which authorities made the decision – on Friday – to right the ship in order to facilitate recovery operations.
The Archbishop of Jakarta and Military Ordinary for Indonesia, Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo, told Crux Now the Church is praying for victims and their loved ones in the wake of the tragedy.
“For sure we pray
