Ferry vanishes at sea as emergency services urgently hunt for 140 missing people feared dead

A desperate rescue effort was launched after a ferry vanished off the coast of Indonesia.

Rescuers were searching for 140 people from a passenger ship that sank in the Java Sea after 103 others were evacuated, one of whom died.

The Virgo Transport 8 ship had set sail on Saturday from the East Java city of Surabaya to the South Kalimantan city of Banjarmasin, the official search and rescue agency said.

The agency said later on Sunday the ship had sunk, without providing further details.

I Putu Sudayana, the head of the agency's Banjarmasin office, said in a video statement that 103 people had been evacuated using different ships and some of them would be taken to an East Java port.

Rescuers launched a search, deploying a team, ships and a helicopter toward the passenger vessel's last known position, he said.

Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands, relies heavily on ferries as a key mode of transportation, with sea routes ⁠more affordable and readily available than air travel.

However, safety standards are not always rigorously enforced, resulting in a relatively high accident rate.

Mr Sudayana said: "The ship’s operator reported the incident to authorities after receiving information that the vessel had encountered bad weather."

A helicopter, tugboats and other vessels were used in the recovery effort.

At Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya, relatives of crew members have also been seeking information about their loved ones.

One relative, Fredy, said his youngest sibling, Stevie Manuhua, worked aboard the vessel as a keyboard player, entertaining passengers. telling the BBC: "We spoke two days ago when the ship was docked in Surabaya. After that, there was no news until now."

Meanwhile, Misnah broke down in tears after learning that her husband, Ahmad Supandi, had survived.

Ahmad, a freight driver, had been aboard Virgo Transport 8 and was later rescued by the vessel MV Haida.