It was two in the morning on Sunday. Rinto Arahap was asleep on a ship. Then the floor of the ship went down on one side. He heard a noise like metal breaking. People woke up. People shouted. People pushed each other. Arahap is 33 years old. He said the crew gave no warning. One person shouted that the ship was going down on one side.
The waves were very big. People fought for life jackets. Arahap got one. He went into the water. He floated in the Java Sea for about four hours. Then people found him. He was going to Samarinda for work. He said he saved only himself. His wallet, his papers and his clothes were all lost.
The ship was the Virgo Transport 8. It left the city of Surabaya on Saturday morning. It carried 213 passengers, 30 crew and cars. It was going to the city of Banjarmasin.
The captain said the sea was very bad. Then the ship was quiet. Rescue boats and one helicopter went to the sea. The waves there were 2.5 metres high. A rescue man, I Putu Sudayana, said the work was very dangerous.
In the evening, six people were dead. Rescuers found 108 people. 129 people were missing.
The first rescue ship came to Banjarmasin before night. Doctors and cars waited at the port. Families stood in front of a big white board. Workers wrote the names of the saved people on it. Jenah is 26 years old. She looked for her big brother. She said she was very sad and shocked. She said her brother travelled alone. She hoped he was alive.