.

Sudayana, who is coordinating the search, said the agency was working with maritime authorities and other relevant agencies while closely monitoring weather conditions in the area.

Search teams, assisted by nearby tugboats and other passing vessels, had rescued 107 people and recovered six bodies by Sunday afternoon, he said.

The Japanese-built Virgo Transport 8 is designed to transport both passengers and vehicles.

Distraught relatives wait for news at a port

Hundreds of relatives gathered at a command center in Banjarmasin's Trisakti port on Sunday, awaiting word on family members believed to be aboard the ferry. Many anxiously checked passenger manifests and rescue lists as authorities continued searching for survivors.

 I was shocked when I saw my uncle's name on the passenger list,  said a woman who goes by a single name, Bunga.  But I felt relieved after officials told me he had been rescued. 

Indonesia is an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands where ferries are a common method of travel. Disasters occur regularly, with weak safety enforcement often blamed.

Last month, at least 211 people were rescued from an Indonesian ferry that caught fire in rough seas near the Indonesian tourist island of Bali, while one person was found dead and four others remain missing. The incident happened less than two weeks after another Indonesian ferry, the Mutiara Sentosa 2, caught fire in waters off the main island of Java, leaving at least five people dead.

Sunday's accident comes just four days after a fire that gutted a passenger ferry in the Philippines killed at least 76 people, with at least 10 others still missing.

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Karmini reported from Jakarta. Associated Press journalists Fadlan Syam in Jakarta and Edna Tarigan and Andi Jatmiko in Pontianak, Indonesia, contributed.