Two Russian Nationals Trapped by High Tide at Padang-Padang Beach, Pecatu

Two Russian nationals were trapped by high tide at Padang-Padang Beach in Pecatu Village, South Kuta District, Badung Regency, at around 9:20 PM WITA on Saturday, 30 May 2026. They were successfully rescued in the early hours of the morning.

Shumskikh Ariadna Anatolievna, 22, and Kristia Kirill Eduardovich, 23, initially swam at Padang-Padang Beach for 30 minutes from 5:00 PM WITA before walking along the shoreline to watch the sunset. Unaware of the rising tide, they were suddenly trapped when waves surged after 35 minutes of walking along the coast, according to Iptu I Gede Adi Saputra Jaya, Head of Public Relations Section at Denpasar City Police.

They attempted to climb the nearby cliffs but were unable to ascend due to the steep terrain. Shumskikh contacted her friend Ruslan Gruzinskii via Telegram for help, who then informed Wedy Salmanto, who alerted Basarnas emergency services.

The Denpasar Search and Rescue Office received the report at 9:30 PM WITA and dispatched seven SAR personnel, arriving at the scene by 10:05 PM WITA. They coordinated with Denpasar City Police’s Marine and Air Unit (Satpolairud), Balawista, the victims’ associates, and locals to locate the pair.

Their position was found about an hour later, but evacuation was delayed due to the rugged cliffs and poor lighting. Monitoring the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG), authorities learned the tide would recede around 3:00 AM WITA. While waiting, the joint SAR team explored rescue methods, keeping the victims under watch.

Despite challenges, the team successfully evacuated both using high-altitude rescue techniques, lowering one officer via rope before extracting the victims one by one. ‘Considering safety for both our team and the victims, we successfully rescued them at around 2:00 AM,’ said Denpasar Search and Rescue’s field coordinator, Wahyu.

Denpasar City Police confirmed Shumskikh had no injuries, while Kristia sustained minor scrapes on both knees and left palm. Both refused hospital checks post-rescue, insisting they were fine and wished to return to their villa, according to Adi.