15 Passengers Died Of Drowning, Central Buton Police Check Ship Captain

The search for the ship that sank in Buteng. (ANTARA)

The Central Buton (Buteng) Criminal Investigation Unit (Satreskrim) of the Central Buton Police (Buteng), the Southeast Sulawesi Regional Police examined the captain of an inter-village ferry that sank in the waters of Teluk Mawasangka Tengah, Buteng Regency. Head of Criminal Investigation Unit of the Buteng Police, Iptu Sunarton, said that the crew of the ship being examined, namely the Pincara captain named Saharuddin (50) who is a resident of Lagili Village, Central Mawasangka District, Buteng Regency. "We have done it at the Buteng Police," Sunarton said, quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, July 25. He revealed that currently his party has secured the captain at the Buteng Police. "We have not done any arrest, we are still securing his status at the Buteng Police," explained Sunarton.

Previously, the Kendari Basarnas evacuated an inter-village ferry in Central Buton Regency, Southeast Sulawesi Province which had an accident that resulted in the sinking of the ship in the waters of Mawasangka Tengah Bay. Head of the Kendari Basarnas Muhammad Arafah in Kendari, said that the ship that sank was a ferry ship between Lagili Village, East Mawasangka District and Lanto Village, East Mawasangka District., said Arafah.

After the Rescue Team arrived, he continued, a direct search was carried out by dividing into two search teams, where the first team carried out dives around the location of the ship accident and the second team conducted a search above sea level around the scene using a rubber boat.

Arafah said that as a result of the accident, as many as 15 people who were residents of Lagili Village, East Mawasangka District, Central Buton Regency were declared dead and as many as six other victims were rescued. "All of the victims died after identification was carried out at the Mawasangka Timur Health Center, they were immediately handed back to their families. Meanwhile, the survivors are currently being treated," he explained.