The ferry left port on a Saturday with 243 people aboard. By 2 a.m. Sunday, it had stopped answering.

The Virgo Transport 8 departed Surabaya, on Indonesia's Java island, bound for Banjarmasin on Borneo, when it was caught in rough weather in the Java Sea. Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency, known as Basarnas, lost contact with the vessel around 2 a.m. Sunday and was alerted about 4:10 a.m. By midday, six people were confirmed dead, 103 had been evacuated, and roughly 130 remained missing.

Waves Nearly as Tall as the Rescue Boats

The ship's captain had radioed in rough seas — waves up to 3 meters (10 feet) — before reporting the vessel was tilting. Conditions stayed dangerous well into the search. "It is extremely risky for vessels. Even our Basarnas vessel, which is 40 metres (131ft) long, is at great risk," said I Putu Sudayana, chief of the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office, describing waves as high as 2.5 meters hampering the rescue operation.

Metro TV's coverage of the evacuation and search effort in the Java Sea.

A Rescue Operation Racing the Clock

Heri Purwanto, head of the Banjarmasin Sea Port Authority, said crews moved as soon as the alert came in. "We responded quickly to the incident report," he said. "Our main focus and top priority at this time is the safety of everyone on board the ship, and we are deploying a coordinated rescue operation." Rescue ships and a helicopter have been combing the waters roughly 148 kilometers (92 miles) from Banjarmasin, the vessel's last known position.

Part of a Troubling Pattern

This is Indonesia's fourth major ferry emergency since July, according to reporting on the incident, renewing scrutiny of safety standards for the passenger vessels that connect the country's thousands of islands. An investigation is underway into what combination of weather and possible technical failure caused the ship to go down.

What Happens Next

As of midday Sunday, search teams were still working through hazardous seas to reach anyone who survived. Officials have not said when the search will be scaled back, and the final death toll — and the cause of the capsizing — remain unknown while the operation continues.