LABUAN BAJO, Indonesia — On what was slated to be the final day, the sea gave no answer. After 13 days of a sweeping multinational search across the turquoise expanse of Komodo National Park, the waters yielded no trace of the last missing child from the KM Putri Sakinah disaster. Yet, as the search vessels returned to port Wednesday evening, a formal plea for more time arrived, not from a grieving family, but from a nation’s highest diplomatic representative.
The joint Search and Rescue (SAR) operation concluded its planned timeline with what officials termed a “nil result.” Despite deploying 168 personnel from a mosaic of agencies—the military, police, park authorities, and local diving communities—and scanning the depths with drones and sonar near the wreck site south of Komodo Island, the mission failed to locate the fourth victim: the nine-year-old son of Valencia CF women’s football coach Martin Carreras Fernando.
“The search results conducted by the joint SAR team were nil,” said SAR Mission Coordinator Fathur Rahman of Basarnas Maumere, confirming the somber outcome.
As the operational commanders convened to decide whether to officially suspend the search, a letter from the Spanish Embassy in Jakarta altered the calculus. Ambassador Bernardo de Sicart Escoda formally requested the Indonesian authorities extend the mission.
“We respectfully request that the search operation be extended, to find the fourth and last missing victim,” the Ambassador stated in his letter dated January 7, 2026.
The diplomatic note, while urgent, was couched in profound gratitude. It specifically highlighted “the many efforts made by Indonesian institutions, as well as the coordination and cooperation among all the authorities involved.
” The Ambassador praised the “professionalism and dedication” of Basarnas and all Indonesian security personnel, calling it exemplary throughout the difficult process.
This intervention elevates the tragedy from a private, familial anguish to a matter of interstate attention and collaboration. It underscores the high profile of the victims—a beloved Spanish football figure and his family—and places a gentle but significant diplomatic pressure on the Indonesian system to exhaust every possible avenue.
The search has already recovered three victims: Coach Fernando, his 12-year-old daughter, and his ten-year-old son, whose body was found inside the beached wreck last Tuesday.
The operation has been a massive logistical undertaking, covering an area where the wreck itself was found 14 kilometers from the initial sinking point in the Padar Strait, a testament to the complex currents that have complicated the recovery.
For the international community in Bali and the global observers following the saga, the Ambassador’s request adds a new, poignant chapter. It reflects a universal human imperative that transcends procedure: the need for closure, for the recovery of a child, and for a family’s right to lay their loved one to rest.
The Indonesian authorities now face a weighty decision—to declare the sea the boy’s final resting place or to heed a diplomatic appeal and continue the search, guided by a resolve that must now balance diminishing hope against the unwavering duty to try.
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