Basarnas History: Speed Of Disaster Response And Accident Praised By The World

Natural disasters and 'air and sea' accidents are often considered a frightening scourge. No one can guess when a disaster will come. Two things that can be prepared by each country are mitigation and emergency response efforts. In Indonesia, for example.

Disaster management to emergency response accidents are handled by the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas). The quick response action brings many benefits. Basarnas was the first to offer assistance. The move then invited the world's praise.

The occurrence of air and sea disasters is the two most feared things. The high number of casualties is the estuary. The same thing happened in natural disasters. From earthquakes to floods. Those who have the potential to become victims are not small.

The world is starting to think about forming a quick response agency unit. Search and Rescue (SAR), his name. The institution is used to carry out search and quick response efforts for accident victims and natural disasters.

Each country believes that embedding efforts related to accidents and disasters cannot be delayed. Once there is an incident, the SAR team must be able to be a savior. Survivors for victims and local residents so that they are not affected by the potential for major disasters.

The SAR team must also be able to work quickly, precisely, and efficiently. Indonesia also wants the services of the SAR team. The need for National SAR increased when Indonesia became a member of the National Civil Aviation Organization (ICEO) in the 1950s.

All because of the main requirements for each ICEO member to have a National SAR team. Even the National SAR embryo was born. The desire to build a professional SAR team also rose with Indonesia's registration as a member of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

However, the SAR team at that time did not have a single forum. The SAR team is still managed by each relevant agency -- civilian or military. The new changes were present when Suharto and the New Order (Orba) took over the government of the Old Order. President Suharto also issued a Presidential Decree (Kepres) to present the SAR team in the form of an institution. Basarnas," he said.

While reviewed in terms of personnel, the potential for SAR in these civilian/military agencies in general does not have special SAR knowledge and therefore requires further training and guidance. In terms of equipment owned by these agencies, it is not specifically for SAR equipment, however, it can be used in an emergency situation, which is important for embedding.

The hope for the existence of a national SAR organization was finally realized by Presidential Decree Number 11 of 1972 dated February 28, 1972, which stipulates the existence of the Indonesian SAR Agency (BASARI) with its main task of dealing with flight and shipping disasters. BASARI, which was later known as Basarnas as domiciled and responsible to the President, has a function of coordinating search and rescue in accordance with the provisions of national and international SARs," wrote Dharmasena Magazine's report entitled National SAR (1989).

The presence of Basarnas is an important element in efforts to save natural disasters and accidents in Indonesia. Traces are often seen and proven to be effective. Basarnas is always present first, compared to other institutions in every disaster and accident.

This extension was realized from time to time. Even the world began to look at Basarnas' action when the Air Asia QZ8501 plane crashed in the waters of the Karimata Strait, Central Kalimantan in 2014. The plane flying from Surabaya to Singapore can be found by Basarnas with military assistance within three days.

Basarnas began to find debris from planes and the bodies of passengers. The world's major media also threw praise at Basarnas. The Wall Street Journal even called Basarnas the fastest search team in the world flight tragedy.

Puji-puji is also not only present abroad. Domestically, too. President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) also participated in perpetuating praise for Basarnas' response to disasters and accidents. Praises from the National Basarnas Working Meeting and the National Search and Rescue Potential Coordination Forum (FKP3) in 2023 in February 2023.

We all hope that there will be no major accidents. But we know that the experiences that exist from when there was AirAsia in 2014 that fell in Belitung waters. Then Sriwijaya SJ 182 in the Thousand Islands.

Then Lion Air JT 610 in Karawang waters in 2018 and also the Sinar Bangun Motorboat in Toba in 2018. I followed everything and some I saw directly in the field the response speed from Basarnas. I have to convey what it is, very quickly," Jokowi said as quoted by Detik.com, February 16, 2023.