Recorded at approximately 6.30pm local time on 26 December 2025, the amateur footage shows the tourist boat Putri Sakinah calmly lifting anchor near Kalong Island, moments after visitors had gathered on deck to watch thousands of fruit bats flood the dusk sky — one of Labuan Bajo’s most celebrated natural spectacles.
“The timing can be estimated with reasonable accuracy,” said Giostanovlatto, a tourism observer and founder of Hey Bali. “The fruit bats at Kalong Island follow a highly consistent daily pattern, typically emerging from the mangroves at around 6.10pm and continuing to fly for about 20 to 30 minutes. In the footage, bats are still clearly visible overhead as the vessel prepares to depart, which places the moment near the end of that window, at approximately 6.30pm.”
At first glance, the scene appears ordinary. The sea is relatively calm. The light is soft. The boat begins its slow departure toward Padar Island, a standard route for sunset cruises in Komodo National Park. Nothing in the video hints at the catastrophe that would unfold hours later.
Yet today, the footage has become a crucial visual reference in understanding the final known moments before the fatal maritime incident that claimed multiple lives, including members of a Spanish family.
Faces on the Sun Deck
Careful examination of the video reveals four passengers standing on the sun deck: three females and one young boy.
According to information now circulating among search teams and investigators, the individuals are believed to be members of the family of Fernando Martín Carreras, a coach with Spain’s Valencia women’s football team.
One adult woman, believed to be the children’s mother, stands close to them. A teenage girl wearing white — believed to be one of the victims whose body was found on 29 December near Serai Island — is seen quietly observing the fading spectacle of flying bats. Nearby is a younger girl in a yellow top, who authorities believe survived the incident.
Most haunting is the image of a young boy dressed in white. He appears calm, unaware that he would later become the focus of an ongoing search operation. As of this writing, he remains missing.
Fernando Carreras himself, along with another child, does not appear in the frame. Observers believe they may have been elsewhere on the vessel, possibly in lower deck areas alongside crew members, who are visible beneath the sun deck.
A Normal Evening, A Critical Question
What makes the video particularly significant is not only who appears in it, but what it suggests about conditions at the time.
The footage indicates that, as Putri Sakinah departed Kalong Island, there were no visible signs of panic or distress. The atmosphere on board appears orderly. Weather conditions, at least visually, seem stable. This quiet normality has become a central question for investigators: how did a routine tourist departure turn into a fatal maritime disaster just hours later?
“If the estimated time of the accident was around 8.30pm, then this video was recorded roughly two hours earlier,” said Giostanovlatto, a tourism observer and founder of Hey Bali. “What stands out is that there is no indication, either from the passengers’ behaviour or the visible sea conditions, that anyone on board was aware of the danger that lay ahead.”
Maritime safety experts note that such moments are often deceptive. In eastern Indonesian waters, particularly during the west monsoon season, conditions can deteriorate rapidly after nightfall. Sudden wind shifts, rising swells, and strong currents may develop far from sheltered islands, catching vessels in exposed channels.
From Souvenir Footage to Evidence
What was likely intended as a simple holiday recording — documenting the iconic Kalong Island bat migration, which typically peaks shortly after 6.10pm — has now taken on a different role.
The video is being treated as a valuable visual reference for search and rescue teams, helping establish the last confirmed positions of passengers, their clothing, and their locations on the vessel before the accident.
For the families involved, it is a painful reminder of how quickly joy can collapse into tragedy. For authorities, it underscores the importance of scrutinising not only weather data, but also route decisions, timing, and safety protocols for evening sailings in the Komodo region.
A Broader Reflection for Tourism in Komodo
The Putri Sakinah tragedy has reignited broader concerns about maritime tourism safety in Labuan Bajo — a destination promoted globally as a crown jewel of Indonesian tourism.
International visitors often assume that UNESCO-listed destinations operate under world-class safety standards. Yet local seafarers have long warned that west-season conditions demand stricter sailing limitations, especially after sunset.
As investigations continue, the video stands as both evidence and warning: a quiet reminder that disasters rarely announce themselves loudly at first.
Sometimes, they begin in silence — under a sky full of bats, on a boat that appears, for a moment, entirely at peace.
Amateur video recorded around 6.30pm shows the tourist boat Putri Sakinah calmly leaving Kalong Island, about two hours before the deadly Komodo incident. https://t.co/al5ppKSZ91#Komodo #LabuanBajo #PutriSakinah #KomodoNationalPark #MaritimeSafety #VALENCIA #BreakingVideo pic.twitter.com/YCaHick4IY
— Hey Bali (@Heybaliinfo) December 30, 2025
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