Jakarta | Indonesian rescuers launched a search operation Sunday after a passenger ship carrying 240 people lost contact in the Java Sea while travelling from East Java to South Kalimantan on Borneo island, officials said.

The Search and Rescue Office in Banjarmasin, the capital city of South Kalimantan province, said they received a report the Virgo Transport 8 had experienced a communication failure while en route to the city from Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city in East Java province.

Initial information indicated the vessel's last known position was in the Java Sea, about 148 kilometres from a pier in Banjarmasin.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.