One Victim of Pompong Boat Sinking in Mengkikip Waters Found Dead
The Joint SAR Team successfully found one victim deceased on the third day of the search operation for a pompong boat that sank in the waters off Mengkikip Village, Meranti Islands Regency, Riau, on Wednesday (5/8). As of now, one other victim is still declared missing and remains under search.
Head of the Pekanbaru SAR Office, Budi Cahyadi, through the Head of the Meranti Islands SAR Alert Unit, Prima Harrie Saputra, confirmed that the maritime accident occurred on Sunday (3/8) at around 10.00 WIB. The pompong boat was known to be carrying four passengers.
“Based on information received from the Meranti Water Police Unit, the pompong boat departed from Kampung Balak at around 08.00 WIB heading to Sungai Metas to collect and fell sago trees. When it was in the waters off Mengkikip Village, the boat was reported to have sunk,” said Prima on Wednesday (5/8).
In the incident, two passengers were reported to have managed to save themselves. The two were Iv, 30, and B, 30, both residents of Kampung Balak Village. However, two other passengers were swept away by the current and declared missing.
The identities of the missing victims were Ibl, 25, a resident of Kampung Balak Village, and Am, 50, a resident of Teluk Belitung Village. The Joint SAR Team was deployed on Sunday afternoon to sweep the incident site.
The SAR operation on the third day, Wednesday (5/8), began by expanding the search area to a radius of 7 square nautical miles. At around 12.25 WIB, the team received a report from the public regarding the discovery of a body.
“The victim was identified as Am, 50, a resident of Teluk Belitung Village. The body was then evacuated and handed over to the family at the funeral home,” explained Prima.
After evacuating the first victim, the Joint SAR Team resumed sweeping until 18.00 to search for the remaining victim, Ibl. However, by the end of the third day of operations, the victim’s whereabouts had not been found.
The search operation was temporarily suspended on Wednesday afternoon and is scheduled to resume on Thursday (6/8) starting at 07.00. The Joint SAR Team will continue to follow the established operational plan to sweep a wider area.