3 People Including 1 Baby Still Missing, Search For Victims Of Ships Dimming In Batam Having Weather Obstacles

Proses pencarian korban kecelakaan kapal kayu terbencang di perairan Kabil, Kota Batam, memasuki hari keempat. (Antara)

The process of searching for victims of the shipwreck accident in Kabil waters, Batam City, is entering its fourth day. Basarnas acknowledged facing problems with the weather.

Head of Basarnas Tanjungpinang Slamet Riyadi said the search constraints on sea currents and winds were quite strong. However, five victims were finally found and evacuated.

"The search process for victims of the ship's accident is quite difficult at the search location due to strong ocean currents and winds," said Slamet, quoted from Antara, Friday, November 18.

Slamet revealed that one of the victims who was evacuated managed to survive and four were found dead. Meanwhile, three victims are still being sought, including a three-year-old baby.

Even though the weather conditions were not friendly, Slamet emphasized that the search for accident victims that occurred on Monday, November 14 that night continued.

The search will only be stopped after seven days, he said, according to the rules implemented by Basarnas. "If according to the rules, the search will only be carried out for seven days," he added.

However, Slamet said it was possible that the search would continue if there was a request from the family.

"Sometimes there are families who still hope that the victims can be found, maybe we will reconsider to continue the search," he said.

He hopes that the weather search process can be stable so that the remaining three victims can be found entirely. "We have expanded the search location, hopefully the weather can be stable during the search process," he concluded.