Sick, Foreigners From The Philippines Forced To Evacuate From Tankers In Aceh Waters

The SAR team evacuated Filipino citizens because they were sick in Aceh Besar waters, Thursday (18/1/2024). (ANTARA)

BANDA ACEH - Banda Aceh National SAR Agency (Basarnas) team medically evacuated a Filipino citizen from the tanker where he worked because he was sick in the stomach.

Head of Banda Aceh Basarnas Ibnu Harris Al Hussain said the evacuated Filipino citizen named ACSTA Ronald Masaoay, a 55-year-old man.

"The victim was evacuated from the tanker where he worked after experiencing a cramp or seizure in the stomach. The evacuation was carried out on Thursday," said Ibnu, quoted by ANTARA, January 18.

The victim was a crew member of the Falkanger tanker, Norwegian-flagged, with a shipping route from Brazil to Singapore.

The victim was sick while on a cruise on Wednesday at around 18.00 WIB. Then the captain contacted the Aceh representative ship agent and forwarded it to the Banda Aceh Basarnas.

Evacuation using the SAR ship KN Kresna 232. The ship moved from the Ulee Lheue Port of Banda Aceh to the meeting point with the tanker in the Bengal Strait, the waters between Aceh Island in Aceh Besar District and Weh Island in Sabang City.

The evacuation was carried out after KN Kresna docked at the hull of the tanker. The evacuation location is 7.3 nautical miles from Ulee Lheue Port. Wind speed during the evacuation of 18 knots with a wave height ranging from half a meter to 1.5 meters.

"After an examination by the health team to prevent infectious diseases and immigration documents, the victim was transferred from the Falkanger ship to KN Kresna. Furthermore, the victim was taken to Ulee Lheue Port to be evacuated to a hospital in Banda Aceh," said Ibnu Harris.

He said the evacuation process involved officers from the Port Health Office, Customs and Excise, immigration, harbormaster, shipping agents, and other related parties.

"Arriving at Ulee Lheue Port, the victim was evacuated to Zainoel Abid Hospital in Banda Aceh for further treatment. With the completion of the evacuation of the Filipino citizen, the SAR operation was closed and all personnel were returned to their respective agencies," said Ibnu Harris.