SAR Team Looking for 4 Spanish Citizens Missing After a Ship Capsized in Labuan Bajo

JAKARTA - The Directorate General of Maritime Affairs of the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) stated that the SAR team was searching for four Spaniards who were reported to have drowned in the waters of Padar Island, Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

Head of the Labuan Bajo Class III KSOP Office Stephanus Risdiyanto said the four Spanish citizens were foreign tourists who were traveling in the Labuan Bajo area.

"The four victims are foreign tourists, Spanish citizens, who based on initial data are in one family group," said Stephanus in a statement from the Ministry of Transportation confirmed in Jakarta, Saturday, quoted by Antara.

He explained that the four Spaniards were four of the 11 people who boarded the tourist ship KM Putri Sakinah which sank in the waters of the Padar Strait, on Friday, December 26 at around 21.00 WITA.

The Ministry of Transportation also expressed its deep concern over the accident.

It is known that the Indonesian-flagged ship with a traditional passenger-carrying ship type carries 11 people, consisting of the ship's crew, tour guides, and passengers, including foreign tourists.

Based on the initial report, the accident was allegedly caused by an anomaly in the condition of the sea waves which were quite high, more than two meters, causing the ship to overturn and sink.

Shortly after receiving information from the ship's agent, the Labuan Bajo Class III Port Authority and Port Authority (KSOP) immediately coordinated and deployed an emergency response team with Basarnas elements, the Indonesian Navy, the local Police Polairud, and other related agencies to carry out search and rescue operations (SAR).

Based on the results of the temporary evacuation, of the 11 people on board the ship, seven of them were found to be safe, with details of two foreign tourists who are also Spanish citizens; four crew members; and one tour guide.

"All the survivors (seven people) have been successfully evacuated to Labuan Bajo and are in a safe condition," he said.

Meanwhile, until now, four other people who are Spanish citizens are still missing and are in the process of being searched by the joint SAR Team.

"SAR operations are still continuing with prioritizing the safety of personnel and considering the weather and local waters," he said.

The Directorate General of Maritime Affairs ensures that it will continue to coordinate intensively with all parties involved in the search and evacuation process.

Previously, the joint Search And Rescue (SAR) Team managed to evacuate seven of the total 11 victims of a tourist boat that sank in the waters of Padar Island, Labuan Bajo, on Friday, December 26 night.

"The joint SAR team, after receiving information, immediately headed to the location using the RIB of the West Manggarai SAR Post," said the Head of the Basarnas Maumere Office, Fathur Rahman, who was contacted from Labuan Bajo, Saturday, December 27.

Due to the incident, the new joint SAR team rescued seven people. The joint SAR team is still searching for the other four victims. The four victims were also foreign tourists with Spanish nationality.

"The joint SAR team has headed to the scene to carry out a search for the victims," he said.

The chronology of the incident began when the tourist ship KM Putri Sakinah carrying 11 passengers departed from Komodo Island to Padar Island to continue the tourist trip at 20.00 Wita.

However, at 20.30 Wita, the ship experienced engine failure and sank.