Indonesia deploys helicopter in search for missing cargo boat

3 hours ago

Natuna, Riau Islands (ANTARA) – An Indonesian search and rescue team deployed a helicopter on Tuesday to widen the search for cargo vessel KM Samudra Jaya Kelautan, which lost contact in waters off the Anambas Islands in Riau Islands Province, officials said.

Abdul Rahman, head of the Natuna Search and Rescue Office, said the helicopter was deployed on the second day of the operation to speed up the search across the suspected location of the missing vessel.

“The team conducted aerial surveillance over four search points on a Matak-four search points-Matak route to support the second day of the search operation,” Abdul Rahman said.

The aerial search used a Sikorsky S-76C++ helicopter owned by PT Medco Energy International Anambas and operated by Pelita Air Service.

He said the helicopter enabled rescuers to cover a wider search area and conduct sweeps more quickly than relying solely on sea assets.

Search efforts also involved the Natuna Search and Rescue Office’s Rigid Inflatable Boat 02, but rescuers had yet to find any trace of the vessel or its four crew members, he said.

The Natuna Search and Rescue Office said the 10-gross-ton cargo vessel departed Air Sena in Tarempa for Batam on Saturday, August 1, carrying a cargo of fish and was scheduled to arrive on Sunday, August 2.

The vessel failed to make contact by Monday, August 3, and was reported missing, prompting authorities to launch a search and rescue operation the same day.

The four crew members were identified as Samsul Bahri, 54, Azan, 41, Awang, 65, and Handay Yadi, 40, Abdul Rahman said.

To expand the search, the Natuna Search and Rescue Office sent coordination telegrams to the Tanjungpinang Search and Rescue Office and Malaysia’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Putrajaya.

The operation involves the Anambas Search and Rescue Post, the Tarempa Naval Base, the Anambas Islands Disaster Mitigation Agency, Tarempa Ship Radio Station, the Anambas chapter of the Indonesian Fishermen Association, and Medco Energy’s helicopter support.

Weather conditions remained favorable during Tuesday’s operation, with southerly winds of about 12 knots, visibility of 10 km (6.2 miles), and cloudy skies, Abdul Rahman said.

He said the search would continue using all available air and sea assets until the vessel and its crew were located.

He also urged fishermen and passing mariners to immediately report any signs of the missing vessel in waters around the Anambas Islands.