Fast Boat Carrying 30 Overturned Bridal Groups, 3 Dead And 4 Undiscovered

Illustration of the SAR Team searching for missing persons at sea (ANTARA)

BULUNGAN - Allegedly due to being caught in a wooden stick, a fast boat carrying 30 wedding groups suddenly capsized in the waters of Tamangga, Bulungan Regency, North Kalimantan, Monday, February 10 afternoon. As a result of the incident, three passengers were found dead and four others missing and are still being searched.

In amateur video footage that went viral on social media, dozens of passengers from the fast boat Iqza Express, suddenly capsized and sank while crossing the waters of Tamangga, Tanjung Palas District, Bulungan Regency, at around 13.30 WITA.

In the amateur video, dozens of passengers can be seen trying to save themselves from the waters after the fast boat they were traveling in suddenly capsized.

Based on temporary data, the fast boat Iqza Express carries a cargo of about 30 passengers who are a group of one of the bride and groom's families.

The plan is for the ship to bring a group of bride and groom's families to attend a wedding reception in Tias Village, Bulungan Regency.

As a result of this overturned fast boat incident, three passengers were found dead, and four others were missing due to being dragged by the swift currents in the waters of Tamangga. Other passengers were successfully evacuated by joint officers from the North Kalimantan Police Ditpolairud, Basarnas, and the local BPBD.

North Kalimantan Police Chief Inspector General Hary Suwijanto said the joint SAR team was at the scene to evacuate victims, both survivors and victims who died. Currently, most of the victims of the overturned fast boat have been evacuated to a local hospital.

"We and several colleagues have arrived at the location. We are trying to evacuate the ship after we evacuated the victims. We have taken the victims who died to the hospital," said Hary.

Currently, his party is still focused on searching for victims around the scene. For definite information, the number of passengers on board will be updated regularly.

"The information is still not valid. The initial information is that there are about 30 people on one ship, but we are still updating it, improving the data, so we can confirm how many victims were on the ship. So, we can confirm whether we still have something to look for. For the time being, "he continued.

Regarding the cause of the Iqza fast boat crash that capsized, it is still under investigation. However, the initial suspicion is that the cause of the ship capsized due to being caught in a wooden stick. "Initial information was conveyed that there were concerns, yes, eventually it overturned, and the victims fell," he said.