An Indonesian ferry went missing and later sank in the Java Sea, leaving six people dead and 107 rescued, according to the BBC. The BBC reported the casualty and rescue figures on Sunday, September 13, 2026.
Other outlets covering the same incident described a wider search. AP News and CNN both reported that authorities were looking for roughly 130 people after the vessel overturned. Reuters put the number of missing at at least 129 following the capsize, while Dawn reported rescuers were searching for about 140 people after the ship sank, citing an agency.
The differing figures reflect the early and shifting nature of the accounting in the hours after the incident. The BBC's report of six dead and 107 rescued is the confirmed toll it published; the other outlets focused on the scale of the ongoing search for those still unaccounted for.
The vessel was carrying passengers in the Java Sea, a busy stretch of water in the Indonesian archipelago where ferries are a common mode of transport between islands. The reports did not specify the route, the ship's name or the cause of the sinking.
What to watch next: whether Indonesian authorities release an updated, unified count of those rescued and still missing, and confirm the total number of people who were aboard.
