Tunu KMP Carcas Found At The Balinese Sea Balinese, 17 Victims Still Missing

The joint SAR team continues to search for victims of the sinking ship KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya in the waters of the Bali Strait. (ANTARA)

The search operation for victims of the sinking of KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya has been officially extended. In the latest developments, the joint SAR team managed to find the wreck of the ship on the seabed of the Bali Strait.

Deputy for Search and Rescue Operations for Basarnas Preparedness, Ribut Eko Suyatno, said that the findings were obtained by the marine search and rescue team (SRU) who carried out diving and monitoring using underwater cameras.

"Alhamdulillah, the marine SRU team received visuals of the ship's object in an inverted position on the seabed, and the ship's name was clearly visible on the ship's hull," said Eko in his statement quoted on Monday, July 14.

The ship's carcass was found at the eighth reference point, one of the areas where the focus of the search was from the start. The findings will soon be reported to the Ministry of Transportation for further follow-up.

Not only did they find the position of the ship, but the SAR team also managed to evacuate one of the bodies suspected of being the 48th victim. The woman's body was found by fishermen about 4 kilometers from Pengambengan Village Beach, Jembrana Regency, Bali.

The victim was found wearing black legging pants, without a superior, with the characteristics of a black and white socks on the left leg and a gold bracelet on the left hand. The body was immediately evacuated to Ketapang Harbor and taken to Blambangan Hospital, Banyuwangi, for further identification.

With this discovery, the SAR team hopes that the search for the remaining victims can immediately show results, while continuing to carry out intensive sweeping in the waters of the Bali Strait and the southern waters of Banyuwangi.

Of the total 65 passengers and crew above KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya when the ship sank, 48 people have been identified. Of these, 30 people survived, while 18 people were declared dead. To this day, 17 people are still missing, and the search for them is still ongoing.