3 Survivors, 1 Missing: Search And Rescue Team Still Searching For Arif Kurniawan, Who Went Missing After Being Hit By Waves Off Tolandona, Central Buton

The Joint SAR Team was searching for victims in Buteng, Southeast Sulawesi (10/11/2025). (ANTARA/HO-Basarnas Kendari)

KENDARI - A joint search and rescue (SAR) team is searching for a fisherman who went missing after his boat capsized due to being hit by waves in the waters off Tolandona, Central Buton Regency, Southeast Sulawesi.

The Head of the Kendari Search and Rescue (SAR) Office, Amiruddin, said the search was conducted in two teams.

The first team searched an area of ​​1.5 square nautical miles around the location where the victim drowned using rubber boats, while the second team searched an area of ​​1.5 square nautical miles around the waters off Tolandona.

"Team one searched the area where the victim drowned, while team two searched the area around the waters off Tolandona using boats," Amiruddin said in Kendari, as quoted by Antara, Monday, November 10.

The victim was identified as Arif Kurniawan (35). He was reported missing last Sunday at around 1:17 p.m. WITA (Central Indonesian Time), after two boats carrying two people each capsized and sank due to high waves.

"Three people survived the incident, while one person was swept away by the current," said Amiruddin.

Following up on the report, the Baubau SAR Post Rescue Team was immediately deployed to the scene using rubber boats, traveling approximately 18 kilometers from the SAR post.

Various agencies were involved in the search operation, including the Kendari Basarnas, the Baubau SAR Post, the Baubau Navy Post, the Baubau Water Police, the Sangia Wambulu Police, the Lea-lea Police, the Baubau Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), local residents, and the victims' families.

The main equipment used included rubber boats, diving equipment, an aqua eye, a thermal drone, medical search and rescue equipment, and other communication and safety equipment.