One Victim Of A Burned Ship In Meranti Waters Found Dead

PHOTO VIA BETWEEN

MERANTI ISLANDS - One crew member of the KLM Samudera Indah ship that caught fire in the Malacca Strait, precisely in the waters of Melai Village, Rangsang Island, Meranti Islands Regency, Riau, was found dead.

The victim named Zakaria (56) was found floating and in a prone position in the waters of the Bengkalis Strait, to be precise in Tanjung Sekodi by members of the Selatpanjang TNI Naval Post (Posal).

"We managed to find a male body in Bengkalis waters in Tanjung Sekodi," said the Commander of the Indonesian Navy Post (Danposal) Selatpanjang, Marine Lt.

"The body has been taken to the hospital for identification. Hopefully this is the victim we are looking for," he said.

Previously, the KLM Samudera Indah cargo ship loaded with charcoal and sago flour caught fire in the waters of Melai Village, Rangsang Barat District, Meranti Islands Regency, Wednesday, February 16.

The Pekanbaru Basarnas immediately moved quickly after receiving the information and coordinated with related parties to rescue the crew.

From that incident, six crew members survived, while two other people were declared missing and only one victim was found dead. Currently, the search process is being carried out by the Pekanbaru Basarnas and related parties.

The victim who is still missing is Deddy Trisnawan as the head of the engine room (KKM/Chief Engineer).

Head of the Pekanbaru Class A SAR Office, Ishak, admitted that he did not know the exact cause of the fire on the ship loaded with mangrove charcoal and sago flour. However, they are still investigating the trigger.

The KLM Samudera Indah cargo ship departs from Selatpanjang, Meranti Islands Regency, Riau to Batu Pahat, Malaysia. This ship carried a cargo of 84 tons of mangrove charcoal and 50 tons of sago flour.

While there are as many as eight people who operate the ship. Each under the name of Amir Hidayat as skipper and Deddy Trisnawan as KKM. Six other people as crew members are Afis Efendi, M Syahril, Abdul Jalil, M Sukiran, M Fadli Saputra, and Zakaria.

The next day, Thursday, February 17, a number of parties focused on searching for the two victims who had not been found. Among them are the Meranti Islands Polres Sat Polairud, Riau Police Polairud Directorate, Basarnas, Navy, KSOP, and assisted by local fishermen.