Three Passengers from Burning KMP Putri Yasmin Arrive at Lembar Port, One Dead
Three passengers from the passenger motor vessel (KMP) Putri Yasmin, which caught fire in the waters off Sekotong Beach, West Lombok, have been successfully evacuated to Lembar Port. Of the three passengers, one has died.
According to detikBali’s observations, the three victims arrived at Lembar Port by speedboat at around 10.55 am local time. The two surviving victims, one male and one female, immediately received medical assistance in the passenger waiting area.
Meanwhile, one other victim was pronounced dead. The identity and gender of the deceased have not yet been determined.
Head of the Lembar Port Authority Office (KSOP), Syamsurizal, said his team has so far confirmed that one passenger died in the incident. However, he does not yet know the victim’s identity.
“For now, one person has died. We have not yet confirmed the gender,” he said at the scene.
Syamsurizal said the deceased victim was taken to the West Nusa Tenggara Provincial General Hospital (RSUP NTB) in Mataram City. Meanwhile, the two surviving victims are still receiving medical treatment at the Lembar Port passenger terminal. “Taken to RSUP,” he said.
According to Syamsurizal, the evacuation process for KMP Putri Yasmin passengers is still ongoing. A number of vessels have been deployed to evacuate passengers affected by the fire.
Some passengers were evacuated to Lembar Port, while others were taken to Padangbai Port in Bali. “There are still many vessels carrying out evacuations, some are being taken to Padangbai, some to Lembar,” he explained.
KMP Putri Yasmin caught fire while sailing through the waters off Sekotong Beach, West Lombok, in the early hours of Wednesday. The Mataram Search and Rescue Office received information about the incident from the captain of Rescue Boat (RB) 220 Mataram, Nurdin, at 4.39 am local time.
A 50-second video received by detikBali showed plumes of smoke causing panic among the ship’s passengers. All passengers appeared to be wearing life jackets.
“It’s destroyed. Allahu Akbar,” said a man in the video while wearing a life jacket.
Public relations officer of the Mataram SAR Office, I Gusti Lanang Wiswananda, said that based on initial reports, the ship fire was estimated to have occurred at 4.15 am local time. The incident location was at coordinates 8°43’12.37”S-115°47’35.93”E in the waters off Sekotong Beach, approximately 16.84 nautical miles in a straight line with a heading of 272.37 from the position of RB 220 Mataram.
The rescue team immediately moved to the incident location to carry out rescue and evacuation efforts. “The team departed at 4.45 am local time and was estimated to arrive at the incident location at 5.10 am local time,” Lanang explained.