Joint SAR team evacuates eight crew from sunken ship in Central Maluku waters

A joint SAR team evacuated eight crew members of the Motor Vessel (KM) Teluk Bara, which sank in the waters off Tanjung Alang, West Leihitu District (Ambon Island), Central Maluku Regency, after they were found adrift at sea by a New Zealand-flagged yacht. “The joint SAR team successfully rescued eight crew members who were transporting construction materials after the vessel sank near Tanjung Alang waters,” said Head of the Ambon Basarnas Office, Muhamad Arafah, in Ambon, Maluku, on Saturday. The report began with information from a resident named Isjon Siwalette to Basarnas Ambon at around 07:35 WIT, stating that a wooden vessel had suffered a sinking incident in the waters off Tanjung Alang since the morning and was requesting assistance. “Using a Rigid Buoyancy Boat (RBB), the Ambon Basarnas Rescue Team was deployed at around 07:50 WIT to the incident location at coordinates 3°47’3.39”S - 127°59’40.85”E, a distance of approximately 16 nautical miles on a heading of 235° southwest from the BRIN Ambon Pier,” he said. The search for victims only saw a breakthrough at around 11:06 WIT when the Ambon Basarnas ground team, together with the Alang Village community, received information that a yacht had been seen circling several times not far from the sinking location of KM Teluk Bara. “To verify this information, the Ambon Basarnas RBB team was deployed towards the yacht to coordinate, and at around 11:26 WIT, the Ambon SAR Office RBB Team successfully reached the yacht and found all victims in a safe condition on board,” he said. Arafah stated that after coordinating with the yacht, it was discovered that the eight victims had been found and evacuated by the New Zealand-flagged yacht Salty Dogz and were about to be taken to Ambon City. However, upon arrival at Tanjung Alang, the vessel was hit by high waves, causing the wooden planks on the bottom of the vessel to come loose, leading to water ingress and ultimately sinking, with all crew members successfully jumping into the sea to save themselves. After drifting and surviving for several hours on the water’s surface with the help of wooden planks and water jerrycans, the victims were found and evacuated by the crew of the New Zealand-flagged yacht Salty Dogz at around 10:00 WIT. The eight victims were then evacuated by the RBB Team to the KN SAR Abimanyu and taken to the BRIN Ambon Pier to be handed over to their families.