Floating Corpse Found in Seruyan, Suspected KM Virgo Victim; Five Liferafts Also Found Adrift

SERUYAN, KOMPAS.com - A floating corpse was found washed ashore on the coast of Sungai Perlu Village, Seruyan Hilir District, Seruyan Regency, Central Kalimantan, on Sunday afternoon (September 20, 2026).

The body was discovered by local residents around 3:45 p.m. WIB on the beach. At the time of discovery, the corpse was strongly suspected to be male, wearing shorts and a black t-shirt.

The victim was also seen wearing a red life jacket and a white rope.

This discovery happened amid ongoing search efforts for victims of the KM Virgo Transport 8 accident.

The head of Sungai Perlu village, Siti Halisah, confirmed the finding.

"Yes, that's correct. Officers from the Seruyan Police are currently heading to the scene," Siti said, as quoted by Banjarmasin Post on Sunday (September 20, 2026).

According to Siti, there is a suspicion that the body is related to the KM Virgo Transport 8 incident.

"Suspected to be a victim of the Virgo ship," she remarked.

However, this has yet to be confirmed. The identity and gender of the corpse remain pending official examination by authorities.

Five Liferafts Previously Found Unmanned

Near the location where the body was found, residents also spotted a liferaft floating in the waters.

In circulated videos, the liferaft appeared adrift in the sea. The site of the body’s discovery was not far from this area.

The presence of this liferaft drew public attention since five unmanned liferafts were previously found near the Gantingan Beach area in Sungai Perlu Village.

These five liferafts were discovered scattered several days ago and are believed to be connected to KM Virgo Transport 8.

One of the liferafts found earlier reportedly bore markings or inscriptions related to KM Virgo Transport 8.

Body to be Identified by DVI Team

The Head of the Search and Rescue Office (Kakansar) Banjarmasin, I Putu Sudayana, confirmed the report of the corpse discovery.

Basarnas coordinated with the Head of Basarnas Central Kalimantan and deployed a team to the location.

"I coordinated and the team has been dispatched," said I Putu.

The team is estimated to arrive in Seruyan around 1:00 a.m. WIB, followed by a roughly five-hour journey to the precise location where the body was found.

The corpse will then be transported to Banjarmasin for identification.

"Next, the body will be taken to Banjarmasin, where the DVI team will identify whether it matches the manifest or not," I Putu explained.

He added that determining whether the body is a KM Virgo Transport 8 victim will be done through identification by the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team of the Indonesian National Police.

So far, no official statement has confirmed that the body found in Seruyan belongs to a passenger of KM Virgo Transport 8.

The victim's identity and the connection to the ship accident await the results of official examination and identification.

This discovery marks the latest development in the KM Virgo Transport 8 search and rescue operation, now in its eighth day.

Parts of this article were originally published on BanjarmasinPost.co.id under the titles Floating Corpse Found on Sungai Perlu Beach Seruyan Central Kalimantan, Suspected KM Virgo Transport 8 Victim and Floating Corpse Washed Ashore in Seruyan, 22 People Not Listed in KM Virgo Transport 8 Manifest.