3-meter Waves Block The Search For 7 Passengers Drowning In Water Of Yapero, Papua

Timika SAR Rescue personnel return to Pomako SAR Port Pier (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The search for 7 passengers of KM Uty Star who were reported drowned in the waters of Yapero Island, Mimika Regency, Papua, were hampered by bad weather. The team that was prepared was forced to return to the post.

Head of the Timika SAR Office, George L. Mercy Randang, said his staff had deployed a rescue team of 5 people using RIB 400 PK to the location of the KM Uty Star accident in Yapero Island Waters, Mimika Timur Jauh District.

It's just that the team led by the Head of Sub-Section for Alert and SAR Timika Operations, Syahril, was forced to return to the Pomako SAR Pier Post due to unfriendly weather conditions.

"Reports from the team in the field, the wave height reached three meters so that the team could not penetrate the location of the incident. The team decided to return to the Pomako SAR Pier and will resume the search tomorrow morning at 06:00 WIT", said George, February 16 evening.

The sea accident that befell KM Uty Star in the waters of Yapero Island, near the Otutut village, was reported to the Timika SAR Office on Tuesday evening by a resident named Faisal.

Sea accidents in the waters of Mimika to Asmat have been quite frequent lately, especially in fishing boats.

Most of the causes of the marine accident were due to bad weather, namely high waves accompanied by strong winds, causing the boat to capsize.