6 Tourists At KM Vivie Rae II Who Died Engine In The Arafura Sea Healthy

KM Vivie Rae II as a result of aerial photos carried out by the Indonesian Navy Cissa aircraft, Sunday (5/3). BETWEEN/HO-Lantamal XI Merauke/ANTARA

PAPUA - Commander of Lantamal XI Merauke Brigadier General Mar. Gatot Mardiyono said his party deployed a plane to patrol the vicinity of KM Vivie Rae II which was damaged and adrift in the Arafura Sea. In addition to planes, his party has also deployed KRI Tarakan from Ambon to help evacuate KM Vivie Rae II. The Indonesian Navy cass plane since last Sunday conducted patrols, and even had time to communicate with the crew of the ship carrying six tourists from Mashall Island. "From communication with the crew of KM Vivie Rae II, he said, it was revealed that all passengers were in good health," Gatot told ANTARA in Jayapura, Monday, March 6. Previously, the Head of Merauke SAR Supriyanto Ridwan stated that the joint SAR team from Merauke was forced to postpone the evacuation of KM Vivie Rae II which was floating in Arafura waters due to worsening weather. "It is true that the joint SAR team using KN Merpati, Sunday at around 02.00 WIT returned to Merauke navigation pier because upon arrival in the waters of Habee Island, the sea conditions were getting more extreme," he said. Currently, KN Merpati is still waiting for the weather to improve to continue SAR operations. Another effort, he continued, was to broadcast electronic (e-broadcast) to ships passing around the position of KM Vivie Rae II for rescue. The Vivie Rae II motorboat (KM) from Marshall Island, which has carried six tourists, has been adrift in the Arafuru Sea since Thursday after experiencing engine failure due to the propeller being wrapped in a rope. The ship's position is south of Komoran Island about 300 km from Merauke dock. Ridwan explained that KM Vivie Rae II was a cruise ship with a length of 24 meters and a width of 7 meters, departing from Marshall Island on February 26 with the aim of going to Sorong. The ship was carrying six tourists, namely Jean Pierre van Wyngaard (35) a South African citizen, Taylor Marie Loehrer (31) United States, Shahinaz Al Sibahi Alarnaout (35) England, J-Dean Shane van Der Westhuisen (31) South Africa, Matthew Robert Gyorffy (30) Canada, Olivia Di Velice (31) Canadian citizen.