SAR Operation for KMP Putri Yasmin Extended to Eighth Day
The search operation for four passengers of the KMP Putri Yasmin reported missing after a fire incident on the vessel in the Lombok Strait has officially been extended to an eighth day. The decision was made after the joint SAR team found no signs of the victims as the search entered its seventh day on Tuesday (18/8).
Head of the Mataram SAR Office and SAR Mission Coordinator (SMC), Muhamad Hariyadi, explained that the extension was based on a thorough evaluation and took into account input from various SAR elements, related parties, and direct requests from the victims’ families.
“Based on a thorough evaluation and coordination with SAR elements, and considering the request from the victims’ families, we have decided to extend the SAR operation for one more day until Wednesday (19/8),” Hariyadi said in Mataram on Tuesday.
During the week-long operation, the joint team recorded a total of 212 passengers successfully rescued, while one person was declared dead. The seven-day search effort was carried out massively involving three dimensions: air, sea, and land.
The sweep was conducted in stages starting from the incident site in the Lombok Strait, the waters of Bali, and expanding the reach to the southern waters of Java. In addition to deploying personnel and main equipment, the team also optimised the dissemination of information.
Hariyadi stressed that the additional one-day period is a form of the SAR team’s commitment to providing maximum effort for the victims’ families. “We understand the great hopes of the families. Therefore, we have decided to optimise this additional time. All personnel and equipment remain on standby to continue the sweep tomorrow morning,” he added.
With this decision, the total duration of the KMP Putri Yasmin SAR operation now stands at eight days. The joint team will refocus the sweep on coordinate points strongly suspected to be the areas where the four missing victims are located.
The four victims still being searched for are Yasir Arafat, Selvina Rambu Mayi, I Made Sutarjana, and Slamet Yulianto.