7 Days of Search, SAR Operation 8 ABK Missing Fire KM Maulana in Lampung Discontinued

The SAR team is searching for eight crew members of the KM Maulana 30 who were declared missing after the ship caught fire in Tanggamus waters. ANTARA/HO-Basarnas Lampung

JAKARTA - The SAR team has stopped searching for eight crew members (ABK) of the KM Maulana 30 who were lost after the ship caught fire in the waters south of Belimbing, Tanggamus, Lampung.

It was stopped because of the standard operating procedure about assistance and the search process for seven days.

"SAR operations have been carried out according to the operation plan and SAR Map Prediction calculations. However, until the seventh day, the victim has not been found," said Head of the Lampung SAR Office Deden Ridwansah, Saturday, quoted by Antara.

Ridwansah said that the suspension of SAR operations against the eight crew members carried out by the Joint SAR team during the seven-day search using the KN SAR 224 Basudewa, two patrol boats belonging to the Ujung Kulon National Park (TNUK), and one ATR 62-500 aircraft belonging to the KKP, but did not bear fruit.

He explained that basically according to the SOP, Basarnas had carried out a search for seven consecutive days, so based on consideration no signs of the victim's whereabouts were found, the search operation was finally stopped.

However, if there is information about the whereabouts of the victims, he said, the search operation will be reopened for evacuation.

"After coordinating with the victim's family, the SAR operation for the KM Maulana 30 ship accident was officially stopped and continued with monitoring. All SAR elements involved were returned to their respective units," he said.

To note, based on information, the KM Maulana 30 sailed from the Jakarta area on Tuesday, December 16, carrying as many as 33 AKB to fish around the Indian Ocean waters.

Upon arriving at the location, which was one of his destinations on Saturday, December 20, the ship caught fire and required all passengers to jump into the sea in the Indian Ocean near the Tanggamus area.

After receiving information, the joint SAR team was immediately deployed to the location to evacuate the victims.

During the evacuation process, a total of 25 crew members were successfully rescued by the joint SAR team, and eight others are still missing as of today.