10 Passengers Of The Sinking Tour Ship In Labuan Bajo Successfully Evacuated By The SAR Team

Efforts to evacuate the passengers of the sunken tourist boat in the waters of Kelor Labuan Bajo Island, West Manggarai Regency (photo: dock. between)

Labuan Bajo The joint SAR team managed to evacuate 10 passengers of the Raja Bintang 02 tourist ship that sank in the waters of Kelor Island, Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), on Saturday, March 22 in the morning.

Head of the Maumere Basarnas Office, Fathur Rahman, revealed that the passengers consisted of seven foreign nationals (WNA) and three Indonesian citizens (WNI) who were the captain and crew of the ship. All passengers were rescued without any casualties.

The King Bintang 02 ship departed from Labuan Bajo at around 01.00 WITA for a tour around the islands in the area. The ship is planned to stay overnight on Kelor Island, but bad weather conditions result in accidents.

"At that time the weather was unfriendly, strong winds and high waves caused the ship's anchor to the mainland of Kampung Menjaga on Kelor Island. As a result, the ship ran aground and rolled over," explained Fathur Rahman, Saturday.

Knowing the dangerous situation, the crew immediately asked the joint SAR team for help to evacuate the passengers.

Dramatical Evacuation In The Middle Of The Night

The joint SAR team was immediately deployed using the Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) of the West Manggarai SAR Post to the scene. Arriving in Kelor waters, they found the tourist boat in a state of capsized and ran aground.

"Luckily, there was a fishing boat that was first at the location and immediately helped evacuate the passengers to a phinisi ship called Sipakara which happened to be passing by," said Fathur Rahman.

RIB West Manggarai SAR Post then took all passengers from Sipak or to Labuan Bajo. At 02.30 WITA, the SAR team and 10 passengers arrived safely at Marina Labuan Bajo Port.

"All passengers are in safe condition and immediately return to their respective inns," he added.

Advice For Tourist Ships

This incident again serves as a reminder for tourist ships operating in Labuan Bajo waters to always pay attention to weather conditions before sailing.

"We appeal to all tourism ship operators to check the weather forecast before leaving and ensure that the ship is in good condition to sail," said Fathur Rahman.

Labuan Bajo is known as a popular marine tourist destination, but bad weather in these waters can change at any time, especially during the strong wind season.

Until now, Basarnas Maumere continues to monitor the condition of the ship that sank and ensures no further impact as a result of the incident.