Basarnas: Divers have evacuated 50 bodies from KM Virgo victims up to day 21
Banjarmasin (ANTARA) - Basarnas has stated that joint diving teams have successfully evacuated 50 bodies of victims from the KM Virgo Transport 8 accident, which sank in the Java Sea, up to the 21st day of the search and rescue (SAR) operation, Saturday, despite underwater search efforts facing various limitations at the site.
“Diving is one of the crucial efforts in the search and evacuation process. From the evaluation of the diving implementation, an average of four to five sorties are carried out per day. Each sortie deploys two to three teams, with a strength of five divers per team,” said the Head of Basarnas, Mohammad Syafii, during a press conference in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, on Saturday night.
In the press conference regarding the progress of the SAR operation on day 21 of the KM Virgo Transport 8 accident, it was noted that since the accident on Sunday (13/9), diving activities have been conducted since approximately the third day from 09:00 to 16:00 WITA. As of the 21st day of the SAR operation, 50 victims found deceased have been evacuated by divers.
“The diving method has contributed significantly to the search and evacuation process, although its implementation faces limitations due to weather conditions and the conditions of the underwater SAR operation site,” he said.
During the operation, divers have penetrated approximately 10 to 15 metres into the ship, but further penetration is hindered by the large amount of goods, materials, and debris inside the vessel.
“Some windows have been opened and are accessible to divers, but after day 19 of the SAR operation, no more victims were found through that access,” he added.
Syafii mentioned that diving risks are also influenced by the unstable structure of the ship, as its position is still subject to changes in trim and tilt, which is feared could increase risks if sudden shifts occur while divers are inside the vessel.
“At a depth of approximately 27 metres, gas conditions also act as a limiting factor for divers’ working time. Using Scuba, working time is estimated to be no more than 20 minutes per dive; therefore, the condition of the ship, the underwater environment, visibility, debris, contamination, depth, and working time are all considerations in the underwater SAR operation,” he said.
As of the 21st day of the SAR operation, Saturday at 22:00 WITA, Basarnas confirmed that 188 people have been found, consisting of 108 survivors and 80 deceased, while 55 other victims are still being searched for out of a total of 243 people listed on the KM Virgo Transport 8 manifest.
Based on considerations following an evaluation on the 21st day, Basarnas has decided to continue the SAR operation with flexible timing according to field developments and adjusted to the number of personnel, while maintaining the involvement of the agencies that have been part of the operation since its inception.