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JAKARTA: The official death toll from a passenger ship that capsized and sank in Indonesia\u2019s Java Sea rose to 20 on Wednesday, up from \u200bthe previous 10, with rescuers expecting to find more bodies as the ongoing underwater search widens, officials \u200csaid.<\/strong><\/p>\n 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 September \u200b13 during a voyage from Surabaya in East Java to \u200bBanjarmasin in South Kalimantan.<\/p>\n Coast guard and Navy personnel recovered eight bodies from \u2060inside the ship over the past three days, and also found two bodies that had \u200bbeen washed ashore in Central Kalimantan province around 253 km (157.21 miles) from the location \u200bof the accident, head of National Rescue Agency Mohammad Syafii said.<\/p>\n As of Wednesday, the total death toll stood at 20, with 115 people still missing and 108 survivors, he said.<\/p>\n Rescuers found five bodies on Monday, \u200bfour on Tuesday and one on Wednesday morning, Syafii added. 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. After that, if possible, rescuers \u200bwill shift the search to the vehicles on the \u200bferry, but \u2060it could prove challenging, with many appearing to be piled on top of each other.<\/p>\n \u201cThis poses risks to the diving team,\u201d Putu said. \u201cIf it is feasible and \u2060safe, \u200bwe will carry out the search.\u201d<\/p>\n Search and \u200brescue operations have been extended until Sunday next week. Authorities said efforts to right the ship were \u200bunderway, but it remained capsized on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Wednesday\u2019s search would \u200bfocus on looking for more bodies in the ship\u2019s cabins, said I Putu Sudayana, head \u200cof the Banjarmasin rescue \u2060agency.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur underwater search is focused on \u200bthe ship\u2019s hull. \u200bThat is where \u2060we are concentrating because we have found many passengers trapped inside the cabins,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n