2 Fishing Boats In Pontianak Sunk Due To Bad Weather, Search And Rescue Teams Search For The 13 Missing Crew Members

Pontianak SAR team at the site of the sinking ship (Photo: ANTARA/HO)

JAKARTA - Search and Rescue (SAR) Pontianak, West Kalimantan, is currently assisting in the search for two fishing motor boats and their crew members (ABK) that sank due to the impact of bad weather since Tuesday, July 13 evening.

"We have dispatched a search and rescue team to look for two KM along with the crew (ABK)," said Head of the Pontianak SAR Office Yopi Haryadi in Pontianak, Antara, Wednesday, July 14.

The sinking of two fishing vessels, KM Bersama IV and KM Haidan, occurred in different locations at almost the same time. KM Bersama IV is estimated to have sunk Tuesday night at around 21.30 WIB in the waters of Tanjung Bayung, Sambas Regency.

"Meanwhile, KM Haidan is estimated to have sunk this Wednesday morning at around 02.00 WIB around Muara Jungkat, Mempawah Regency," he said.

Yopi added that currently his party is still looking for each of the crew of the fishing motor boat that sank.

"KM Bersama IV sank with three crew on board, while KM Haidan carried ten crew members (13 people in total), all of whom are still in our search," he said.

He said the search for the crew of the fishing motorboat was assisted by search and rescue potentials and local fishermen.

"Our current search focus is to find each of the crew of the two ships. For the search for KM Bersama IV, we dispatched a Rescue Team for the Sintete SAR Post, while for KM Haidan a search was carried out by the Tescue Team for the Pontianak SAR Office," he said.

He appealed to fishermen or people who use sea transportation to pay attention to weather conditions when going to sea. Safety aids to anticipate things that are not desirable need to be prepared properly.