One person was killed and more than 100 were rescued on Sunday after a ferry sailing between the Indonesian islands of Java and to Borneo was hit by bad weather, rescue officials said.

"We have carried out efforts to search for victims to the fullest extent. There were passengers who...had already been successfully evacuated by the units at the scene. We can inform you that the total number of evacuated passengers is 103 people," local search and rescue chief I Putu Sudayana said.

However, one of the rescued passengers died, he told reporters in the port city of Banjarmasin, where the vessel was headed.

The Virgo Transport 8 ship set sail on Saturday from the East Java city of Surabaya to the South Kalimantan city ⁠of Banjarmasin before losing contact, the officials said.

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

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. (Agencies)



Edited by Tony Sabine