Indonesian authorities began, on 18 September, the operation to right the ferry Virgo Transport 8, which capsized in the Java Sea. The ship was on the Surabaya–Banjarmasin route, with 243 people aboard, when it listed in bad weather early on Sunday.

The toll has changed as divers reached the wreck. Friday updates speak of 108 survivors, nine confirmed dead — after three more bodies were recovered, two men and a woman — and 126 missing. The figures can be revised; they should be read from rescue-team statements, not from rumour.

Currents, waves and water pressure delayed access for days. The vessel stayed partly afloat for a time, then settled on the seabed. Navy and national search-and-rescue divers work in short windows; some underwater searching was paused and later resumed when conditions allowed.

The plan is to reposition the wreck and, if possible, move it towards shallower water so teams can keep searching. Eight ships and two helicopters were sent on Friday, with the navy, maritime police, BASARNAS and representatives of the owner.

Passenger lists in Indonesia can differ from records on board. This article does not close the inquiry and does not assign a final cause.

The piece avoids explicit images of victims. The photograph shows a maritime operation, not recovered bodies.

Figures for the dead, the rescued and the missing remain provisional until a later official statement.

Image: KRI Ahmad Yani (351), Indonesian Navy, 2007 / Wikimedia Commons, public domain. A navy ship, not the capsized ferry. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Reuters — Indonesia begins operation to right capsized ship in Java Sea; CNA — Indonesia recovers three bodies as effort begins to right capsized ship.