Madura Disaster Volunteer Forum assists repatriation of KMP Virgo crew member from Pamekasan

Pamekasan (ANTARA) - The Search and Rescue (SAR) team is repatriating Nurul Riyan Hidayat, a crew member of KMP Virgo Transport 8 from Pamekasan, East Java, who died in the accident in the Masalembu waters of the Java Sea in the early hours of Sunday (13/9).

“We received news of Riyan’s repatriation today from the SAR team, conveyed through the volunteer forum community,” said Budi Cahyono, spokesman for the Madura Disaster Volunteer Forum (FRPB), in Pamekasan on Tuesday evening.

Nurul Riyan Hidayat was a resident of Teja Timur village, Pamekasan subdistrict, who worked as a medic on the vessel involved in the maritime accident.

According to information provided by the SAR team, Budi Cahyono said Nurul’s body would be flown from Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, on Wednesday (16/9) at 07.00 WIB and is expected to arrive at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, Sidoarjo, at around 07.55 WIB.

Budi said that since Monday (14/9), the forum had dispatched a team to the KMP Virgo Transport 8 accident command post in Surabaya to assist with the repatriation of victims from Pamekasan Regency.

“This evening we immediately conveyed the news of Nurul’s repatriation to his family in Teja Timur village, and the victim’s family is now waiting,” he said.

Meanwhile, messages of condolence began spreading across various social media platforms on Tuesday (15/9) evening, following news of Nurul’s body being brought home to the family house in Teja Timur village, Pamekasan.

Besides Nurul Riyan Hidayat, another resident of Madura island who was a passenger on KMP Virgo Transport 8 was Vepy from Sumenep Regency.

“As for Vepy, based on information from the SAR team, she survived and is currently being picked up by the Sumenep Disaster Volunteer Forum and the Sumenep Regency Disaster Management Agency,” he said.