Third Day of SAR Operation for KMP Putri Yasmin: No Wreckage or Victims Found
Search and Rescue (SAR) teams found no passengers on the third day of searching following the fire incident involving KMP Putri Yasmin in the Lombok Strait.
“The search from 07.00 WITA until 15.00 WITA, when both vessels returned to Lembar, found no signs of the vessel or the passengers being sought,” said the Head of the Mataram SAR Office, Muhamad Hariyadi.
Hariyadi also explained that one of the five passengers being sought, Ratu Agung Sekar Ayu, 21, a resident of Mataram, had returned home safely according to a report from her family to the command post.
According to Hariyadi, the individual did not board KMP Putri Yasmin but departed earlier, on 9 August, using another vessel. “She was listed on the manifest because she had purchased a ticket for Putri Yasmin, but there was a change,” he said.
As a result, those still being searched for are Yasir Arafat, 37, from Mataram, Selvina Rambu Mayi, 28, from Sumba, I Made Sutarjana, 55, from Denpasar, and Slamet Yulianto, 41, from Denpasar.
The joint SAR team expanded the search area for victims of the passenger vessel fire in the waters of the Lombok Strait on Friday (14/8). The SAR operation is centred at the SAR Command Post at Lembar Port.
“We are deploying all available SAR resources, both personnel and sea and air assets, by dividing the search area into directed sectors. This cross-sectoral synergy is crucial to accelerate the discovery of victims amid challenging water conditions,” said Hariyadi.
Hariyadi added that to maximise the search on this third day, the joint SAR team deployed assets divided into several search areas. KN SAR 220 Mataram, KAL Belongas, and KAL Lembar conducted searches at sea.
Meanwhile, an SGi Air Bali helicopter supported by Finns Search And Rescue and personnel from the Denpasar SAR Office conducted aerial searches. The search areas were to the southwest, south, and east of the incident location.
The Deputy for Search and Rescue Operations and Basarnas Readiness, Marine Major General Edy Prakoso, also directly monitored the SAR operation in the field through the SAR Command Post and coordinated with relevant parties.
The SAR operation involved various SAR elements, including the Mataram SAR Office and Denpasar SAR Office, Lanal Mataram, SGi Air Bali and Finns Search And Rescue crews, Ditpolair Polda NTB, KSOP Lembar, BKK Lembar, SROP Lembar, JRP, BPTB, Gapasdap, DVI Biddokkes Polda NTB, Dikes Lobar, RSUD Tripat, RSUD Kota Mataram, RSUD Provinsi NTB, ASDP, and Puskesmas Jembatan Kembar.
In addition to SAR elements, the movement of teams in the field was also supported by an extensive additional fleet, including KN SAR 220 Mataram, RBB Mataram, RIB 02 Mataram, KN SAR Arjuna, KAL Belongas, KAL Lembar, RIB Nusa Penida, Finns SGi Air Bali helicopter, KMP Portlink II, KMP Parama Kalyani, Kapal Polair KP XXI - 2015, Yacht Still Here, Yacht No Comment, as well as an ambulance fleet from RSUD Provinsi NTB.
The search is planned to resume on Saturday morning (15/8).