Fishermen In North Maluku Reportedly Missing For 3 Days, SAR Team Expands Search

Illustration of the SAR Team searching for missing persons at sea (ANTARA)

TERNATE - The Search and Rescue Office of the Ternate Basarnas, North Maluku (Malut) and a joint SAR team conducted a search for a fisherman who was declared missing while fishing in the waters of the Sula Islands Regency.

Head of Basarnas Ternate Fathur Rahman said a fisherman named Husain Umamit (45 years old) from Waikafia Village had not returned until now when he went to sea since September 21.

"The report was received by the Sanana SAR Alert Unit on Sunday, September 24, 2023, at around 06.40 WIT," Fathur said, quoted by ANTARA, Sunday, September 24.

The chronology of the incident, on September 21, 2023 Pkl 08.00 WIB, the victim went to sea to the FAD in the waters of Waikafia Village, but so far it has not returned.

Residents of Waikafia Village and the victim's family have carried out a search for victims with the results that clothes and drinking water were found along with machetes belonging to the victim in the Ruppon where the victim used to fish.

Furthermore, the family through the South Mangoli sub-district head, Jafar Umanahu, reported the incident to Basarnas (SAR Sanana Alert Unit) and asked for SAR assistance.

At 07.00 WIT, the Sanana SAR Alert Unit Rescue Team held a briefing and moved to LKP using a rubber boat and longboat for the community to carry out searches for victims.

Previously, the Basarnas team reported that two fishermen from Morotai Island Regency who had been missing while at sea were found safe in Philippine waters.

Two fishermen from Morotai Island Sukri Soleman (41 years) and Yusup Abdurahman (45 years) who were declared missing were found by foreign fishermen and information was received on Thursday last week.

Chronologically found by the two victims, on September 9, 2023 at 12.00 WITA, the two fishermen were found by foreign fishermen from the Philippines around the waters of the Palau Islands.

On that occasion, the Filipino fisherman gave 100 liters of fuel to the two fishermen from Morotai for their return trip.

The fisherman then traveled back to Morotai, but because the fuel given was not enough to reach his destination, and could only reach the waters of Miangas Island. Talaud Islands, North Sulawesi Province.

So, on September 13, 2023 at 20.00 WITA, the longboats of the two fishermen were already in the waters of Miangas Island, but they had not been able to dock.