Body Found on Enggano Island Not Yet Identified as Missing Sunda Strait Journalist
The results of DNA testing and identification of an unidentified body found on the coast of Sawang Bengkok, Khayapu Village, Enggano Island, Bengkulu, are still being investigated. The relevant authorities have stated that the body has not been identified as part of the group of journalists and crew of the vessel KM Arupadatu I that went missing in the waters of the Sunda Strait, Banten.
The Head of the Banten SAR Office, Al Amrad, explained that his office continues to coordinate intensively with the Bengkulu SAR Office to monitor developments in the autopsy results. As SAR Mission Coordinator (SMC), Amrad affirmed that the search and identification process is still ongoing as it enters its eighth day.
“This afternoon we have been coordinating about the results with our colleagues at the Bengkulu SAR Office, and we are still awaiting the results,” said Al Amrad at a press conference at the Joint Main Post on Carita Beach, Pandeglang, on Tuesday evening (15/9).
The Head of the Maritime Police Directorate at Banten Regional Police, AKB Ahmad, added that based on information from the Police Medical and Health Office and the Public Relations Division of Banten Regional Police, no physical characteristics matching the body found on Enggano have been found with the victims being sought. At present, the DVI medical team is carrying out further examination of the body’s DNA samples.
“As stated by the Head of Public Relations yesterday, it has not been identified as our colleagues we are searching for. There are no matching physical characteristics, and the DNA is still being investigated,” said Ahmad. He emphasised that details of the physical evidence and clothing attached to the body would be conveyed officially by the DVI medical team.
The joint SAR operation has been running for eight days since the vessel was reported to have lost contact on Monday (7/9). The search covers the waters around Mount Anak Krakatau, spanning Banten, Lampung and Bengkulu provinces. The following eight people remain missing:
The unidentified male body was previously found by local residents and the Bengkulu SAR Office on Saturday (12/9). On Monday (14/9), the body was evacuated by aircraft to Bhayangkara Hospital at Bengkulu Regional Police to undergo an autopsy by the DVI team from the Bengkulu Regional Police Medical Office and the National Police Medical Centre.
Reconciling the victims’ families’ ante-mortem DNA data with post-mortem samples from the body is the key to confirming the identity of the victims amid the impasse in the search over the past week. (Ant/I-1)