Basarnas finds crew member who fell from coal barge at Puloampel Jetty in Serang

A joint search and rescue team successfully located the body of a crew member from a coal barge who was reported to have fallen into the waters at Jetty Bahtera Kharisma Abadi, Puloampel District, Serang Regency, on Tuesday.

Rizky Dwianto, Head of the Alert and Operations Sub-Section at Basarnas Banten, stated in Serang on Tuesday that the victim was identified as Rafli Saputra, aged 22, an oiler from Sragen Regency in Central Java. He was discovered deceased on Tuesday afternoon at approximately 15:20 Western Indonesia Time.

“The victim was found deceased approximately 10 metres from the initial location of the incident (last known position). The body was immediately evacuated and transported to Panggungrawi Hospital in Cilegon City,” he said.

Rizky explained that during the search operation, the joint SAR team divided its forces into three search and rescue units (SRUs). The first SRU used an inflatable boat to sweep a radius of two kilometres, the second SRU used a police patrol vessel to search up to three kilometres, whilst the third SRU searched two kilometres towards the west.

The operation involved intensive coordination with jetty management and the deployment of water rescue equipment and diving apparatus to conduct searches beneath the sea surface.

“With the discovery of the victim, the search operation has been officially concluded and all personnel involved have returned to their respective units,” he concluded.