Search for Selayar Boat Sinking Victims Extended by Three Days
The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) has extended the search operation for victims of the sinking of KM Nurul Salsa in the waters off the Selayar Islands Regency, South Sulawesi, for the next three days. The decision was taken after the operation entered its seventh day and following coordination with the local government and elements of the Regional Leadership Coordination Forum (Forkopimda).
“Today is the seventh day according to the standard operating procedure for search operations. We have agreed to extend the operation for the next three days,” said Basarnas Director of Operations, First Admiral Yudhi Bramantyo, on Tuesday (21/7). First Admiral Yudhi Bramantyo stated that the extension was implemented because 16 passengers have yet to be found.
“Thus, out of a total of 78 victims, 59 have been rescued. We have found three victims deceased, leaving 16 victims still being searched for,” he revealed. On the seventh day, the joint SAR team recovered two more victims, both deceased. The first victim was found around 08:45 WITA near Pamulikang Island and evacuated to the KN SAR Kamajaya. Meanwhile, the second victim was found around 18:00 WITA east of the waters off Sanane Besar Island before being evacuated to the KN SAR Pacitan and transferred to the KN SAR Kamajaya.
“So tonight, on the KN SAR Kamajaya, there are two victims we managed to find on the seventh day. Subsequently, the KN SAR Kamajaya will proceed to transport the two victims to Soekarno Hatta Port in Makassar to be handed over to the South Sulawesi Police’s Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) unit for identification,” he explained. Yudhi detailed that the search area for victims on the seventh day was expanded to approximately 2,924 square nautical miles, divided into five search sectors involving a number of assets, including KRI Marlin-877, KRI Hiu-634, KN SAR Kamajaya, KN SAR Pacitan, KN SAR Puntadewa, RIP 220, potential SAR vessels, and air support from the Hasanuddin Air Force Base.
“Today it is perhaps wider, around 2,924 nautical miles, which we are still dividing into five sectors. However, each sector’s search area will be larger, approximately 494.5 nautical miles in each sector,” he said. As of the seventh day of the operation, out of a total of 78 people aboard the KM Nurul Salsa, 59 were found alive, 3 were found deceased, while 16 other victims remain missing. “We hope the additional operational time will maximise the search efforts for all victims who have not yet been found,” he concluded.