Welcoming hope for survivors of the ship fire in Sumenep waters

For the survivors, the dock marks the end of a long journey from the sea. Yet for the state, the operation is not truly over until every victim is found, every identity confirmed, and every family receives certainty about their loved ones.

Surabaya (ANTARA) - The lights at the Gapura Surya Nusantara (GSN) building at Tanjung Perak Port, Surabaya, had still not gone out when the clock passed midnight on Sunday (2/8). The building, usually a boarding and disembarkation point for sea passengers, had been transformed into an emergency handling centre for victims of the ship fire in the waters north of Sumenep.

Ambulances lined up along the side of the dock. Personnel from Basarnas, the TNI, the National Police, Pelindo, health workers and volunteers moved from one point to another preparing for the arrival of victims of the fire aboard KM Mutiara Sentosa II in the waters north of Sumenep.

In the waiting area, families of the victims chose to stay. Their eyes never left the dock’s entrance gate. Each report of an incoming ship made them stand, hoping the person they were waiting for would step ashore with the group of survivors.

At around 23:15 Western Indonesia Time, KM Meratus Pematang Siantar finally docked. That night, the commercial vessel carried 111 survivors and two people who died in the ship fire.

Health workers were the first to board the vessel. They carried out triage on all the survivors, checking their health conditions and attaching wristbands according to the level of medical care required before the victims descended to the dock.

Two bodies were then evacuated in body bags into waiting ambulances to be taken to the Bhayangkara H.S. Samsoeri Mertojoso Hospital in Surabaya. Meanwhile, survivors of the ship fire were directed to the Gapura Surya Nusantara building for further health checks, identity registration, and reunification with their families.

For Ahmad, a delivery driver from Wonosobo, Central Java, who was also a survivor of the fire, the journey to Surabaya ended hours of waiting in the middle of the sea.

Ahmad recounted that smoke first appeared from the rear of the ship before the flames grew steadily larger, eventually disabling the engine. Passengers then gathered at the bow wearing life jackets and awaited rescue, as the lifeboats at the stern could no longer be used.

Around three hours later, vessels in the vicinity began to arrive. Some passengers of the burning ship jumped into the sea with their life jackets and were lifted onto rescue ships that could not come alongside due to wave conditions.

Muhammad Abdul Karim, another survivor, explained that the flames had almost engulfed the entire vessel. The front section became the only place passengers could hold out until help arrived.

That night, the survivors’ journey did indeed end at Tanjung Perak. However, for the hundreds of personnel involved in the search and rescue operation, the work was not yet finished.