Rinto Arahap was asleep on the ferry. It was two in the morning on Sunday. The floor began to tilt. He heard a sound like breaking metal. Then people started shouting. Arahap is 33 years old. He said people were panicking. Some climbed on tables and some pushed each other. He said no one from the crew gave a warning. One person shouted that the ship was going over.
The waves were more than two metres high. People fought for life jackets. Arahap got one. He went into the water and floated for about four hours. Then someone pulled him out. He was travelling to Samarinda to work on a palm oil farm. He said he saved only himself. His wallet, his school diploma and all his clothes were lost.
The ship was called Virgo Transport 8. It left the city of Surabaya on Saturday morning. It was going to Banjarmasin. There were 213 passengers and 30 crew on board, and also cars.
I Putu Sudayana works for the rescue office in Banjarmasin. He said the captain reported big waves and sent a message for help. Then contact stopped at two in the morning. The rescue office got the report two hours later.
Rescue teams went out with four ships and a helicopter. The sea was still dangerous. Sudayana said the waves were 2.5 metres high. He said even their own ship, 40 metres long, was in great danger.
In the evening, the rescue agency said six people were dead, 108 people were saved and 129 people were missing.
The first rescue ship came to Banjarmasin before dark. Ambulances and doctors waited at the port. Families stood in front of a big white board. People wrote the names of the saved passengers on it. Jenah, 26, waited there for her older brother. She said she was very shocked and had no information. Her brother travelled alone, and she could not call him since the night before. She said she hoped he would survive.