4 Foreigners Successfully Evacuated After Stranded In The Waters Of Mentawai, West Sumatra

The joint team evacuated four foreigners and two Indonesian citizens in the waters of Mentawai Islands Regency, Tuesday morning (25/4). (ANTARA)

PADANG - Search And Rescue (SAR) Mentawai Islands Regency, West Sumatra Province (West Sumatra) managed to evacuate four foreign nationals (WNA) and two Indonesian citizens (WNI) after the ship he was traveling in suffered engine failure in Mentawai waters.

"The ship was turned off, swayed and asked for help to be evacuated," said the Head of SAR for the Mentawai Islands Regency, Akmal, quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, April 25.

Akmal said that the information about the ship accident was that SAR was first received from the Water and Air Police Corps of the Mentawai Islands Regency at 00.40 WIB.

The four foreigners are Santos Junqueira (40), Parker JR David Timothy (40), Papageorge Andreas (52) and Prior Barbosa (34). Then the two Indonesian citizens who served as crew members were Joni (35) and Suardijen (47).

The 18-meter-long Saraina motorboat was adrift around North Sipora waters or to be precise between North Sipora Island and Awera Island.

When evacuated, the Mentawai SAR recorded wind speeds of 2 to 15 knots with wave heights of 1.25 to 2.5 meters and in light rain conditions.

In addition to the SAR Team, the TNI/Polri, the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Tagana, the medical team and the local community also participated in the evacuation process.

SAR Mentawai conveyed five important appeals for the community, fishermen, tourists to tourism ship entrepreneurs. First, pay attention to weather conditions before sailing with the BMKG reference.

Next, ensure the readiness of ship logistics including sufficient fuel oil (BBM), check the condition of the ship's engine, prepare and re-check safety equipment such as buoys and signal transmitters.

Furthermore, people who vacation to tourist attractions, especially to beaches in the Mentawai Islands, must supervise children extra when playing on the beach.