KM Nurul Salsa Survivor's Tale: Four Days Adrift Clinging to Foam

Ardita (17), one of the survivors of the KM Nurul Salsa sinking in the waters off Selayar Islands Regency, South Sulawesi, has recounted her struggle to survive for four days adrift at sea before being rescued by a fishing boat. The teenager, who is still receiving treatment at the KH Hayyung Regional General Hospital in Selayar, said she could only surrender to fate and continuously recite istighfar while floating with four other victims, clinging to a piece of foam. “I just recited istighfar. The one on the foam was a small child, and we pushed them along until a fishing boat came to help,” Ardita said on Tuesday (21/7). Ardita described the final moments of the KM Nurul Salsa, which sank in Selayar waters while sailing from Jampea Island on Wednesday (15/7) at around 05:00 WITA. During the journey, the boat suffered engine trouble and eventually sank approximately 43 nautical miles from Benteng Selayar Port. “It was about to sink. It was already tilting. So at that moment, I jumped straight into the water and managed to grab some foam to hold onto,” she revealed. Ardita said she and the four other survivors relied solely on the foam, enduring four days without food or water under the scorching sun. “No food, and it didn’t rain. We slept occasionally, but only briefly, I don’t know for how many minutes,” she said. Ardita noted that they spotted several fishing boats passing by, but the distance was too great for their shouts to be heard. “Yes, fishing boats. There were six boats earlier, but they were far away, so they couldn’t see us. Then another fishing boat passed by, and we were rescued,” she added.