Jakarta, June 21 (Antara) - Rescuers of a joint team comprising military and police personnel along with locals are continuing the search for some 184 people, who are reportedly still missing after "KM Sinar Bangun" sank in Lake Toba, Monday.
So far, the rescuers have managed to find only 22 victims, of which three have died, but some 184 others are estimated to still be missing based on family reports, as the ship did not have any manifest.
The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) has announced that it will continue to search for the victims. Head of the Medan SAR Office Budiawan noted at an integrated command post at Tigaras Port, Simalungun District, on Thursday that the search began since 7:30 a.m. local time after the morning roll-call.
However, prior to this, it had earlier deployed its team of divers at 7 a.m. local time to look for passengers at the lake bed.
"They did not join the morning roll-call, as they were immediately ordered to dive," he clarified.
Despite weather conditions in Lake Toba not yet being conducive due to the rains, rescue operations have continued unabated. Basarnas has deployed 10 rubber boats in addition to its ship to comb through the waters of Lake Toba in search of the victims.
"The team remains on the pitch, and there are no reports that they have returned," he stated.
For a while, he remarked that rescuers of the joint team had found 22 passengers of the ship that sank Monday (June 18).
"Of the 22, who have been found, 19 were survivors, and three have died," he added.
In the meantime, Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto and National Police Chief Gen. Tito Karnavian on Thursday paid a visit to the survivors of the incident.
Arriving at Silangit Airport, Siborong-borong, North Tapanuli, North Sumatra, Commander Tjahjanto and Chief of Police Karnavian headed directly to the SAR command post of Simalungun and Rondahaim Hospital.
Until the third day of the search, rescuers had found 22 victims, of which three died. Based on family reports following the sinking of KM Sinar Bangun in the waters of Lake Toba, the number of missing passengers reaches 184.
During the evacuation process and the search for victims, the joint SAR team officers encountered difficulties due to strong winds and high waves.
To search for and locate the victims, the joint SAR team has been equipped with a water depth gauge and a remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, to detect the ship's presence.
KM Sinar Bangun had set sail from Simanindo Port, Samosir, and was headed to Tigaras Port, Simalungun. However, after 30 minutes of having set sail, the ship was hit by strong winds and high waves.
The depth of Lake Toba's waters hindered the efforts of rescuers to search for the victims.
"The ability of rescuers and their detector devices is limited," Head of the SAR office in Medan, North Sumatra, noted on Thursday.
The depth of the waters at the location where the ship sank is estimated to reach 460 meters, while the tools are only able to detect a range of 350 meters.
On the fourth day of search for the victims, the SAR team used a detection tool from the Navy (TNI AL) that is capable of reaching up to 600 meters in depth.
The cold waters of Lake Toba also pose a constraint for the divers. The diving ability is also limited to a depth of 50 meters.
The SAR team also conducted search efforts on the water surface by deploying 200 of its 366 personnel and 10 inflatable boats, in addition to involving vessels of local volunteers in the rescue team.
The search is targeted to the Southern North East section of the lake based on the wind direction, with a radius of six to 10 kilometers from the last recorded coordinates of the sunk vessel.
Based on data recorded from the reports of the victims' families at the disaster command post, 192 passengers are still missing. A total of 22 have been found, of which three were dead.
The government had earlier already tracked the coordinates of the ship that sank on Monday afternoon.
The search for the victims was being conducted by a joint team comprising members of Basarnas, Indonesian National Military, Indonesian National Police, Regional Disaster Management Office, and other agencies.
On the sidelines of the search for victims in Lake Toba on Wednesday, Head of the North Sumatra Disaster Management Office Riyadil Akhir Lubis stated that the joint team had continued to track the location of passengers and the sunken wooden ship.
"Coordinates pointing to the existence of the ship have been found," he added.
Although the joint team has found the coordinates of the sunken ship, it has not yet located the shipwreck.
The joint team is also deploying a special team, including marine personnel, who will dive into the waters at the coordinates.
The marine personnel tracked down KM Sinar Bangun's position using special equipment to detect metal parts at the bed of lake.
"They will dive to a depth of at least 200 meters," he added.
KM Sinar Bangun capsized in the waters of Lake Toba between Simanindo Sub-district in Samosir District, Tigaras Village, and Dolok Pardamean Sub-district, Simalungun District, North Sumatra Province, on Monday, at around 5:30 p.m. local time. ***4***(A014/INE)
EDITED BY INE(T.A014/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 21-06-2018 15:31: |
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