Three Workers Die of Gas Poisoning in the Hold of a Barged Vessel

Three workers died after being trapped in the hold of a barged vessel during repair work on the KM TS Daya Niaso, moored on the Batanghari River off Niaso Village, Marosebo District, Muaro Jambi Regency, Jambi, on Wednesday afternoon. The victims—Zulkarnain, 42; Popo, 32; and Risdiansyah, 41—were reported to have become trapped in the hold while working on an area behind the hatch of the Bargas KM TS Daya Niaso around 09:00 WIB. Jambi SAR Chief Adah Sudarsa confirmed the incident on Wednesday afternoon, after spending more than an hour conducting the rescue with his team. All three men, originally from Pontianak, West Kalimantan, were dead when recovered and were taken to Bhayangkara Hospital, Jambi, for examination. Information about the trio being trapped in the barge hold was received by the SAR team at 09:15 WIB, approximately 20 minutes after they entered the restricted space. The vessel owner, Sani, reported the incident. The Jambi SAR Office immediately dispatched a Search and Rescue Unit (SRU) of 14 personnel, who travelled by land and water for about 13.5 kilometres. They arrived at the scene at 10:25 WIB and coordinated with Naval Police personnel before evacuation. Given the confined-space, oxygen-poor environment inside the hold, the SAR team used Confined Space Rescue (CSR) equipment. The bodies were retrieved in stages; Zulkarnain was found first, followed by Popo and Risdiansyah at around 11:03 WIB. After extraction, all bodies were transported by land to Bhayangkara Hospital for processing and autopsy.