Thirty-1 Passengers Rescued After Ill-Fated Ship’s Sinking; Search Ongoing for 11 Still Missing

DOKUMENTASI BASARNAS SULSEL

The SAR team is ready to evacuate victims of the sinking of the Ladang Pertiwi motor boat in the Makassar Strait, South Sulawesi, Saturday (28/5/2022).

A rescue team continues the search for passengers of ferry vessel KM Ladang Pertiwi, which sank in the Makassar Strait. According to reports, 17 were rescued on Saturday and 14 on Sunday; at least 11 are still lost at sea. Passing fishing boats also aided the rescue efforts.

MAKASSAR, KOMPAS — Thirty-1 passengers have reportedly been rescued from the waters of the Makassar Strait after the sinking of ferry ship KM Ladang Pertiwi: 17 on Saturday and 14 on Sunday. Of the 14 survivors rescued on Sunday (29/5/2022), 10 were rescued by passing fishing boats and four were plucked out of the sea by the KRI Sultan Hasanuddin warship. The search for 11 other passengers, still missing, as reported by National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), is ongoing.

The information regarding the 10 passengers rescued by fishing boats was confirmed by the head of the Liukang Kalmas Police, First Insp. Rusli, when contacted on Sunday afternoon. The survivors were reportedly taken to a shelter on Pammantauan Island, Pangkep regency, South Sulawesi. The island happens to be the destination for some passengers of Ladang Pertiwi.

"It is true that 10 people were found and saved. They were floating in the sea when a fishing boat happened to pass. They were rescued and evacuated to Pammantauan Island. Coincidentally, some of the survivors live there," Rusli said.

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The other four passengers were evacuated by KRI Sultan Hasanuddin to Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, as reported by the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Pangkep secretary M Arsyad.

The sailing time from Paotere to Liukang Kalmas is between 18 and 20 hours.

KM Ladang Pertiwi departed from Paotere port in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Wednesday (25/5) with the destination of Liukang Kalmas Island, Pangkajene regency. The ship's stopovers included several other islands, such as Pammantauan, Masalima, Salirian and Pamalikan. The sailing time from Paotere to Liukang Kalmas is between 18 and 20 hours.

However, at around 3:30 a.m. Indonesian Central Time (WITA), the ship suffered damage from the stormy seas due to bad weather. Simultaneously, it began running out of fuel and sank. The search and rescue (SAR) authority received the information about the mishap only on Saturday (28/5). There was no official document numbering the passengers, but Basarnas reported there were at least 42 people aboard the ship.

KOMPAS/JUMARTO YULIANUS

Officers assist survivors in the sinking of the Ladang Pertiwi 2 Motor Ship at Trisakti Harbor, Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Sunday (29/5/2022).

Seventeen people were reportedly saved on Saturday. Some were taken to land and sheltered in local residents’ houses. Others were accommodated at an inn. They were in a stable condition, though some were traumatized.

Baharuddin (72) said his son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren were safe. The four boarded the ship to return to Liukang Kalmas after visiting him in Pangkajene, the administrative seat of Pangkep, Sulawesi mainland.

"Alhamdulillah (praise be to God), I have received the good news they were found. Since hearing about the sinking of their ship, we had all been worried. My wife hardly stopped weeping," he said.

As of Sunday night, the search for the 11 missing passengers was ongoing. The previous morning, the search was carried out by helicopter. South Sulawesi Governor Andi Sudirman Sulaiman joined the search and rescue team in an H-3211 Super Puma. With him were Air Operations Command (Koopsud) II Air Rear Marshal Minggit Tribowo; the chief of staff of Koopsud II, Air Commodore Djhon Amarul; South Sulawesi SAR head Djunaidi; and Yonif Raider 700/WYC Major (Inf) Sarman, who represented the Hasanuddin Military Command (Kodam XIV) chief.

He said those passing through the Makassar Strait, especially at the location of the ill-fated ship, were encouraged to join the search.

Andi Sudirman said the search, conducted by SAR ships and helicopters, involved a number of fishing boats. He said those passing through the Makassar Strait, especially at the location of the ill-fated ship, were encouraged to join the search.

Peotere port administrator Nufrizal Atmakaesa told reporters that KM Ladang Pertiwi, which functioned both as a passenger and fishing vessel, had not called when arriving and departing.

Banjarmasin evacuation

Seven survivors arrived at Trisakti seaport in Banjarmasin on SAR ship KN 407 Banjarmasin on Sunday around 6 p.m. They were taken to shelter for recovery after having been adrift in the sea for 16 hours.

The surviving passengers were Thobatussibhan (21), M Rahman (17), Syamsir (41), Rahma (28), Hj Badarapi (61), Husni (40) and Hidayatullah (19).

KOMPAS/JUMARTO YULIANUS

The SAR ship KN 407 Banjarmasin docked at Trisakti Port, Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Sunday (29/5/2022) afternoon. The ship carried out medical evacuations for seven victims who were rescued by the TB Sabang 25 ship in the sinking of KM Ladang Pertiwi 2 in the Makassar Strait, South Sulawesi.

Seaport administration’s sailing safety division head Ari Sasmito said he coordinated with related institutions in Makassar to enable their home departure. (REN/JUM)

(This article was translated by Musthofid)