Shipwreck Victims In Johor Bahru Increase To 21 People

JAKARTA - The number of victims who died due to the shipwreck accident in the waters of Johor Bahru, Malaysia, has increased to 21 people.

In a search operation carried out on Friday, the SAR team again found the body of a man in the morning at 08:35 local time by fishermen.

"Based on the identity (KTP) found in the wallet, the body of the initials H is 45 years old from East Lombok. The bodies were taken to the Sultan Ismail Hospital in Johor," said Director of Protection for Indonesian Citizens and BHI at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Judha Nugraha, quoted by Antara, Friday, December 17.

In addition, Kota Tinggi Hospital informed that one male Indonesian citizen who had previously survived but was in critical condition had died on Friday afternoon. The Indonesian citizen with the initials AA (37) comes from West Jakarta.

“Thus, the total death toll is 21 people, consisting of 15 men and six women. All the bodies are at the Sultan Ismail Hospital (HSI) Johor Bahru," said Judha.

On Friday morning, the Indonesian Consulate General's Protection Team in Johor Bahru contacted the heirs and families in Indonesia after the Malaysian side verified and confirmed the identity of the victim.

Judha explained that to date, as many as five bodies have been identified.

"The Consulate General continues to contact the family for assistance in handling and repatriating the bodies that have been identified," he said.

The Consulate General has also met 13 Indonesian citizens who survived to ensure their condition and provided food, clothing, and consular assistance for the repatriation process in coordination with Malaysian Immigration.

"The search and rescue operation will continue with the Malaysian authorities. Basarnas is also conducting a search on the border by deploying two ships," said Judha.