The joint SAR team is still struggling to locate the sunken KM Sinar Bangun, which capsized on Lake Toba, despite the use of a sonar device on Friday (22/6/2018). The search on the fifth day has not yielded any results.
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SAMOSIR, KOMPAS — The joint SAR team is still struggling to locate the sunken KM Sinar Bangun, which capsized on Lake Toba, despite the use of a sonar device on Friday (22/6/2018). The search on the fifth day has not yielded any results.
“The depth of Lake Toba around the location of the accident is more than 600 meters. The device cannot detect items at a depth of more than 600 meters,” said National SAR Agency (Basarnas) head Muhammad Syaugi at Tigaras Port in Simalungun regency, North Sumatra.
Syaugi said that, according to the map, the depth of Lake Toba around the location of the accident should be around 550 meters. Thus, they had brought in the sonar device that could detect items at a depth of 600 meters. The device had been brought in from the Indonesian Navy’s oceanography center in Jakarta and arrived at Tigaras on Thursday night.
The detector has been assembled on a wooden boat since Friday morning. Officials installed the device on the deck and the side of the boat.
On deck, a screen displayed underwater imagery. The boat moved slowly around the location of the accident. The operation of the detector was under the command of Syaugi.
Syaugi said the sonar device initially operated well to detect items at depths of less than 600 meters. However, in the area around the accident scene, the detector proved unhelpful. “That means the depth of the spot is more than 600 meters,” he said.
Device is replaced
Syaugi said in the next search effort they would use a sonar device, which had the capability to detect items at a depth of 2,000 meters. The device would be brought in from the Basarnas ship at Tanjung Pinang, Riau Islands, and was on its way to Tigaras. It was due to arrive at Tigaras on Friday night and to be put to use on Saturday.
The search for the KM Sinar Bangun is important, because most of the victims were reportedly trapped inside. As of Friday night, the number of missing passengers, based on reports from the public, stood at 184. Nineteen passengers have been rescued, and three have been found dead.
Medan Basarnas head Budiawan said the underwater search was carried out using remotely operated vehicles (ROV). The vehicles could work at a depth of up to 200 meters. Meanwhile, the efforts of divers were temporarily halted, because they can only reach a depth of 50 meters. Visibility was also only two meters.
Aside from the underwater search, the joint SAR team is also monitoring the water surface. That monitoring activity has been expanded from a radius of 5-10 kilometers to 10-20 kilometers.
The surface search is made using rubber boats and small ships, with SAR workers scanning the surrounding using binoculars or the naked eye. They are focusing on the beach, to detect any bodies swept ashore.
Help from residents
Aside from the joint SAR team, residents have volunteered to help with the search effort. Volunteers using wooden boats are monitoring the water. Residents have come to the Simanindo Port since 8 a.m. Six boats were used for the search effort, each holding 40 people.
Simanindo resident Manalu, 48, said his participation in the search was a form of care. “We are deeply saddened by this accident. We cannot stay silent. Thus, we took the initiative to go to the lake,” he said.
The residents’ vessel was also used to search for the sunken ship, deploying an anchor to a depth of 600 meters. Afterward, the vessel was driven in the hope of catching anything that may point to the spot of the ill-fated KM Sinar Bangun. Most of the victims were reportedly trapped inside the vessel when it went down. However, no more victims had been found until 5 p.m., when all boats involved in the search effort were moored for the night.
JB Sagala, secretary of the Samosir regency administration, said the search for the victims remained the main focus. Simalungun regency’s JR Saragih concurred.
During the past days, his office had focused on the search and rescue effort, he said, adding that his office would afterward upgrade transportation services on Lake Toba to improve safety.
Government team formed
In Jakarta, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said he was forming an ad hoc team to assess activities to improve safety on Lake Toba. The team would discuss with the National Committee for Transportation Safety to set short and medium-term goals.
“[It will determine] whether the monitoring and operational activities will be carried out by the regional administration or the central government, or whether it would resemble the case of Kali Adem, where it is operated by Jakarta but supervision is in the hands of the central government,” said Budi Karya.
The assessment and supervision will focus on passenger lists, sailing permits and the availability of safety gear on vessels. “We will also check the design of vessels, whether it is correct or not. We will determine the team and talk with the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform,” he said.
Indonesian Maritime Practitioners Association (Pramarin) member Roni Gozali said the public and ship operators were basically willing to follow the rules, but added that, in practice, the rules were not enforced, and there was no supervision.