JAKARTA - On December 30, 2006, KM Senopati Nusantara was declared missing. The ferry sailed from Kumai Bay, Central Kalimantan to Semarang, Central Java, on December 28 at 20.00 WIB.
Until the scheduled date of December 32, 2006, the ship never arrived. At that time, KM Senopati Nusantara was facing a very strong storm in the Java Sea. Until finally on December 30 at 03.00 WIB, KM Senopati Nusantara was declared missing. The ship is thought to have sunk in the waters of Mandalika.
Apart from bad weather, the excess passengers on the ship made things worse. Many passengers who buy tickets on board aka stowaway.
Citing Liputan 6, to search for victims, the National SAR Agency, the TNI, and the National Police deployed six planes and helicopters. The planes rescued survivors floating on the high seas.
In addition, rescue tires and instant food were thrown in as first aid. The location of the victim was immediately informed to other ships.
The Navy SAR team also conducted searches to the waters of Bali and West Nusa Tenggara (NTB). In addition to using war planes, the rescue team also used Nomad planes for searches.
Quoting Tirto, the survivors recounted that while they were adrift, they took turns blowing the lifeboats that kept on deflated. Many ships passed but the distance was too far from them. They were then stranded on Kangean Island on the sixth day.
Another story from a survivor named Yanti, said that she remembered the children and parents who panicked when they were on the ship and couldn't do much.
"Many parents gave up when the ship began to sink because they couldn't jump into the lifeboat," Yanti said, citing Antara.
Yanti boarded a lifeboat with five people, facing a rainstorm and waves as high as six meters in the waters of Mandalika. As he boarded the lifeboat, he immediately took off his jeans and threw them away. He did this because he was afraid the lifeboat was overloaded.
"I only wear underwear because if I don't take off my jeans, I can't get into the lifeboat, because it's too heavy," he added.
Meanwhile, the search for victims lasted for 45 days. This time is longer than the rules stipulated by law, which is 7 days. The search for victims can cost up to IDR 1 billion, according to Syahrin, Head of the SAR Mission Coordinator (SMC). Of the 628 passengers on board, 347 died, including two whose bodies were not found.
Other eventsWhile searching for the victims of the sinking of KM Senopati Nusantara, another incident occurred, namely the disappearance of Adam Air flight 574. The flight departed on January 1, 2007 with the route Jakarta-Surabaya-Manado. The plane disappeared after transiting in Surabaya.
The plane had 96 passengers, consisting of 85 adults, 7 children and 4 infants. The plane was also piloted by Captain Refri Agustian Widodo and co-pilot Yoga Susanto and flight attendants Verawati Chatarina, Dina Oktarina, Nining Iriyani and Ratih Sekar Sari. The plane was also carrying 3 Americans.
Adam Air plane (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
When contact was lost, the plane was 85 nautical miles northwest of Makassra City at an altitude of 35,000 feet. At that time the weather in the area was stormy. Although the Juanda Airport operator had given the pilot a warning regarding the weather, the plane departed on schedule.
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