Missing 3 Weeks, Man Found Dead Rotting In A Tongkang Ship In Mahakam River

SAMARINDA - A 38-year-old man who was missing for three weeks was found dead rotting in the hold of a coal barge in the waters of the Mahakam River, Samarinda City, East Kalimantan. The process of evacuating the bodies also took place dramatically because access to the location of the victims could only be passed by one person.

The body of the man suspected of having the initials S was found lying in a rotting condition in the hold of a barge parked on the banks of the Mahakam River, precisely in the area of Jalan Salak, Palaran District, Samarinda City.

The joint SAR team, consisting of Basarnas Balikpapan, the Samarinda City Fire Department, the Kutai Kartanegara Regency Fire Department, and the police, immediately moved to evacuate the victim's body. However, the team had difficulties because access to the ship hold was very narrow and could only be passed by one person with a small body.

"The evacuation process is quite difficult because access to victims in the hold of the ship is very narrow. Only one person can enter," said the coordinator of the Samarinda SAR Alert Post, Riqi Effendi, in his statement, Monday, January 6.

The SAR team was forced to use a vertical rescue technique to evacuate the victim's body, which was eventually successfully removed after more than 2 hours.

Based on provisional information, the victim, suspected of having the initials S, has been reported missing since Tuesday, December 17, 2024. The victim's body was immediately taken to Abdul Wahab Syahrani Hospital Samarinda to undergo an autopsy. The local police are still conducting an investigation to determine the cause of the victim's death.