Mentawai Sea Tragedy: Overturned Boat, 11 Passengers Have Not Been Found

MENTAWAI - A reverse crossing boat in the Sipora Strait, Mentawai Islands Regency, West Sumatra, Monday, July 14 at noon. As of Tuesday, July 15 morning, the joint SAR team was still looking for 11 passengers who had not been found.

The ship is known to have departed from Sikakap Harbor to Tuapejat at around 11.00 WIB, carrying a total of 18 passengers, including children. The 12-meter-long ship with a 40 PK engine is suspected of having an accident due to bad weather and high waves.

The head of the Mentawai SAR Office, Rudi, explained that search and rescue operations had been continued since Tuesday morning. The joint SAR team searched the sea area between Sikakap and Tuapejat despite the challenging weather conditions.

This morning the team returned to combing the waters from the direction of Sikakap to Tuapejat to find 11 people who had not been found. The weather is quite challenging, but the search is still carried out optimally," said Rudi.

Seven passengers were rescued in this incident. The identity of the survivors and missing is still in the process of being collected by officers in the field.

The Mentawai Basarnas has opened a SAR post and appealed to the public and the families of the victims to remain calm and follow official developments from the post.

Search efforts also involve elements of the TNI/Polri, BPBD, volunteers, and local fishermen