SAR team evacuates 14 passengers from broken-down speedboat in Aru Islands

A joint SAR team in the Aru Islands Regency, Maluku, successfully evacuated 14 passengers from a speedboat that reportedly suffered engine failure in the waters off Gomar Village. The speedboat had departed from Joran Village bound for Dobo, the capital of Aru Islands Regency, on Saturday (11/7) at approximately 15:50 WIT, according to Dobo SAR Operations Team Commander Usman Raseng in a statement from Ambon on Sunday. However, upon reaching the waters off Gomar Village, North South Aru District, the speedboat experienced engine damage and could not continue its journey to Dobo. The passengers were temporarily rescued by local residents and taken to Erersin Village, East South Aru District. At 22:00 WIT, the joint SAR team was dispatched using the Aru Islands SAR Alert Unit RIB heading to the location at coordinates 6°38’7.46”S - 134°33’5.47”E, approximately 67.75 nautical miles away on a heading of 160° south from Dobo Port. At around 00:51 WIT, the joint SAR team managed to communicate with one of the victims, who reported that all passengers were safe and temporarily in Erersin Village awaiting the team’s arrival. The joint SAR team arrived at Erersin Village at 01:00 WIT. After confirming all victims were safe and considering the late hour and limited visibility, the team announced that the evacuation to Dobo would commence at 05:00 WIT. On 12/7 at approximately 05:50 WIT, the joint SAR team began the evacuation process and moved all victims towards Dobo, a distance of roughly 55 nautical miles north from Erersin Village. After a four-hour journey, the joint SAR team and all victims arrived safely at Pasar Barat Port in Dobo at around 09:30 WIT and were subsequently handed over to their families.