Longboat With 7 Passengers Lost Contact In North Maluku Waters

Longboat with seven passengers reported missing contact between the waters of Kawasi Obi Village, South Halmahera, and Waisum Village in the Sula Islands.

Head of the Ternate SAR Office, Iwan Ramdani, admitted that he received information about the loss of a longboat with seven passengers from Babinsa Waisum.

"We immediately dispatched the USS Sanana Rescue team to conduct a search," he explained when contacted in Ternate, Antara, Sunday, March 2.

The Rescue Team USS Sanana then coordinated with relevant agencies after receiving the report and then using RIB 01 Sanana conducted a search operation.

He said that on Saturday at around 12.00 WIT the longboat, which used a hanging machine, took seven people and departed from Kawasi Village on Obi Island, South Halmahera Regency, to Waisum Village in Sula Islands Regency with an estimated arrival at around 18.00 WIT.

However, until the evening the longboat had not yet arrived at his destination.

On Sunday morning at 08.00 WIT, the victim's family made a search using two longboat units, but the results were still nil. Furthermore, the victim's family reported the incident to the Sanana SAR Alert Unit and asked for help.

The Sanana SAR Alert Unit Rescue Team, Airud Sanana Police, Airud Obi Police, Indonesian Navy Sanana Post, Sanana Koramil, Sanana Police, Babinsa Obi, Kawasi KPLP, local communities and their families together conducted a search.

As per reports, the seven missing longboat passengers were Rahman La Muhamad Acting Head of Waisum Village (motoris), Wa Sa'adia, La Kasi, wife of La Kasi (unknown name), and three children of La Kasi whose names are also unknown.