Five Crew Members Who Drowned In The Banda Sea Reportedly Survived, 3 Missing People

JAKARTA - Head of the Ambon Maluku SAR Office Muhammad Arif Anwar reported that five of the eight motorboat crews on the voyage of KM Sweet which sank in the waters of the Banda Sea were found safe.

"The three crew members were found adrift with only buoys in the sea by fishermen who happened to pass this evening at 17.35 WITA," he said, quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, March 13.

He ensured that the five victims named Rusdin, Hamid Ely, Kelvin Tuhumena, Naril Wolio, and Nadil Tomia were currently being handled by the joint SAR team who were carrying out search tasks on the third day.

After confirming that the five victims received medical treatment, the joint SAR team conducted a search around the location where the victim was found.

The joint SAR team consisted of the Ambon, Polairud, and Indonesian Navy SAR Offices conducting a sweep that took place in the waters of the Banda Sea, or about 35 nautical miles (NM) from Seram Island, East Seram.

However, according to him, during the search process the team was faced with a weather that suddenly worsened, so the search was stopped at around 19:00 WITA, and will continue Thursday (14/3) morning.

Previously, Basarnas picket officers received a report from residents of KM Sweet sailing from Banda Island, Neira to look for fish with the aim of Tantui Village Pier, Ambon.

In a voyage on Monday (11/3), about 10 nautical miles (NM) from the waters of the United States, the ship was hit by a large wave, causing the ship's hull to be damaged and eventually sank.

Until now, there are still three crew members who have not been found, each named Arsywandy Syahwal, Hasan Nur Tualepe, and Imanuel Kresio Ririhena.