LABUAN BAJO, Indonesia – The intensive, large-scale search for a missing Spanish football coach and his two sons, victims of the Putri Sakinah schooner disaster in Komodo National Park, is set to reach a critical administrative milestone on New Year’s Day. By law, the official Search and Rescue (SAR) operation must conclude after seven days—a deadline that falls on Thursday, January 1, 2026.
However, authorities have indicated the mission could be extended, pending a formal evaluation of the prospects for recovery.
Fathur Rahman, the SAR Mission Coordinator from the Maumere office of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), confirmed the timeline on Wednesday. “We are conducting the search in accordance with the Search and Rescue Act, which stipulates operations last for seven days,” he stated.
The search, now in its sixth day, continues for Valencia CF women’s B-team coach Martin Carreras Fernando and his two young sons. They are the only missing persons from the pinisi vessel that sank in the Padar Island straits on the night of December 26. The body of the coach’s 12-year-old daughter was recovered earlier this week.
“After the seven-day period ends, the joint SAR team will conduct an evaluation,” Mr. Rahman explained. Based on that assessment, the operation could be formally extended for up to an additional three days if there are tangible indicators—such as sightings or debris linked to the missing—that suggest a high probability of discovery.
The current effort represents a significant mobilization of resources. On Wednesday, the joint task force comprised 140 personnel, including over a dozen professional divers. The operation has deployed 12 vessels and advanced equipment, such as side-scan sonar, thermal imaging drones, and underwater drones, to scour the challenging underwater topography and vast surface area around the sinking site.
The approaching deadline introduces a painful tension between legal procedure and a family’s hope. For the international community in Bali, many of whom visit or work in the Komodo region, the incident underscores both the capabilities and the limitations of emergency response in Indonesia’s remote marine parks. The potential extension hinges on a cold calculus of efficacy, a decision that will weigh logistical reality against the imperative to provide closure for a grieving family and a watching world.
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