Ten rescued after government speedboat sinks in Southwest Papua

Sorong, SW Papua (ANTARA) - Search and rescue personnel in Sorong evacuated 10 survivors from a speedboat owned by the Fakfak district government that sank off Siri-Siri Village in Inanwatan Subdistrict, South Sorong District, Southwest Papua Province, on Tuesday.

Hidayat, head of operations and preparedness at the Sorong Search and Rescue Office, said the survivors were transferred by inflatable boat to Rescue Boat 221 early Tuesday.

"All survivors were transferred to Rescue Boat 221 at 12:32 a.m. local time. The rescue vessel then continued to Kokas because the survivors were from that area," he said.

The agency received a report of the accident from relatives of those aboard on Monday morning. The speedboat reportedly sank at around 5:45 a.m. local time off Siri-Siri Village.

Local residents who learned of the incident at around 7 a.m. used a longboat to rescue those aboard.

The Sorong SAR team deployed Rescue Boat 221 to the site, but high waves and smoke haze reduced visibility to between 300 and 500 meters, hampering the rescue operation.

Hidayat said rescuers eventually used an inflatable boat to transfer the survivors from the evacuation site to Rescue Boat 221. The rescue vessel reached Kokas at around 5 a.m. Tuesday and handed all the survivors over to their families, he said.

All 10 people aboard, including the driver, escaped without injuries. The speedboat was also carrying a body to Kokas.

Hidayat said the cause of the sinking remained unclear, and authorities had yet to determine whether the vessel had sprung a leak or struck a reef.

He said the speedboat appeared to be seaworthy and was equipped with two 250-horsepower engines, but the cause of the accident remained unknown.

With smoke haze reducing visibility at sea, Hidayat urged fishermen and others working on the water to exercise greater caution when navigating.

He warned that experience at sea does not eliminate the risk of accidents, particularly when weather conditions deteriorate and visibility falls below normal levels.

"We urge people who make their living at sea to exercise caution and monitor weather conditions and visibility to prevent accidents," he said.

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Translator: Yuvensius LB, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: M Razi Rahman
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