SAR Team Scours the Location of a Sinking Tourist Ship in Labuan Bajo

LABUAN BAJO - A joint Search And Rescue (SAR) team is searching for four people who were reported missing by combing the location where the last place the tourist boat was seen by the victims in the waters of Padar Island.

"The combined element focuses on finding the last point where the ship was seen," said West Manggarai SAR Post Rescuer Yudha Pradana Kusuma at Labuan Bajo, Saturday.

The joint SAR team had previously evacuated seven of the total 11 victims of the tourist ship named KM Putri Sakinah which sank in the waters of Padar Island, Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) on Friday (26/12) night.

Yudha added that based on information provided by the crew of the KM Putri Sakinah, as many as four victims at the time the ship sank were in the ship's cabin.

"So the last point of concern for the four victims is still in the room, so the focus of the team's search in the field is still divided into combing, then later we will see the situation whether it is possible to dive to search for conditions under the sea," he said.

During the three-hour search on Friday night, he continued, the joint SAR Team faced a number of challenges, including alun waves or swells and very limited visibility at the scene.

"Another challenge from the crew of the ship who joined us last night was also unable to determine the exact point, in the sense that the last exact point of the ship sank," he said.

Meanwhile, the second day of the search is still being carried out by the joint SAR team consisting of elements of Basarnas, Lanal Labuan Bajo, Ditpolairud Polda NTT, Satpolairud Polres Manggarai Barat, KSOP Labuan Bajo, BPBD Manggarai Barat, marine tourism actors in Labuan Bajo, and divers from the Komodo Professional Divers Association (P3KOM).

Based on ANTARA reporters' monitoring at the Marina Waterfront Labuan Bajo Port, a number of TNI-Polri personnel were on guard to welcome the arrival of the joint SAR team which had been searching since Saturday morning.

There are seven main tools (alut) from various elements and more than 40 personnel deployed in the search for four tourist victims from Spain.

One unit of the KKP Labuan Bajo ambulance was also seen parked at the Marina Waterfront Labuan Bajo Port pier area.

Previously, the joint Search And Rescue (SAR) Team managed to evacuate seven out of a total of 11 victims of a tourist boat that sank in the waters of Padar Island, Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) on Friday (26/12) 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 Maumere Basarnas Office, Fathur Rahman, when contacted.

Two survivors are foreign tourists from Spain. Meanwhile, the other survivors are a tour guide and four crew members.

"A total of three passengers were evacuated by the Neptune ship which passed from Labuan Bajo to Padar Island and four others were evacuated by the joint SAR team," he said.

The identity of the Spanish tourists who are still being searched by the joint SAR Team is Martin Carreras Fernando, Martin Garcia Mateo, Martines Ortuno Maria Lia, and Martinez Ortuno Enriquejavier.

Meanwhile, the two tourists who were found to be safe include Martines Ortuno Mar Amanda and Martines Ortuno Marialia.