KOMODO NATIONAL PARK, Indonesia — As search teams pressed on for a third day in the waters off Pulau Padar, new details have emerged about the final moments aboard the Putri Sakinah, the tourist vessel that sank last Friday night, leaving a Spanish football coach and three of his children missing.
According to the boat’s captain, Lukman, Fernando Martín Carreras, a coach with Valencia CF Women’s B team, and three of his children were trapped inside a lower-deck cabin as the semi-phinisi vessel rapidly took on water after being struck by strong waves.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday while search operations continued near Pulau Padar, Lukman said Carreras and his children had been sleeping in a cabin located in the hull of the boat. Carreras’s wife, Mar Martinez Ortuno, and their seven-year-old daughter were resting in an upper cabin and managed to escape.
“The boat was already submerged,” Lukman said, recalling the moment rescue efforts for those trapped below deck became impossible, according to a statement quoted by Detik.com.
He explained that after the vessel was hit by successive waves, it began sinking quickly, leaving little time for coordinated evacuation. Lukman and other crew members, who had managed to reach a lifeboat from another vessel, attempted to circle the sinking boat in search of Carreras and his children.
“We went around, looking for the four of them,” Lukman recalled. “They were still inside the cabin. They didn’t have time to get out. We circled for about five minutes, but the waves kept coming. Our lifeboat was close to capsizing as well.”
His account closely matches the testimony previously shared by Mar Martinez Ortuno, who has allowed her version of events to be quoted publicly but has declined interviews, saying she remains deeply traumatized by the incident.
In her written statement, relayed through Budi Widjaja, head of the Labuan Bajo branch of the Indonesian Marine Tourism Association (Gahawisri), Mar explained that she and her youngest daughter were in the upper section of the vessel when it began to list. They managed to climb along the exterior wall of the boat and swim to a nearby lifeboat, along with the captain, crew members, and a local tour guide.
“The mother and daughter were in the upper area and managed to climb the side of the vessel and swim to the lifeboat,” Budi said, quoting Mar. “The father and three children were sleeping in the lower cabin. They were not seen coming out.”
The accident unfolded swiftly and in near-total darkness, intensifying the panic on board. After escaping the sinking vessel, Mar and her daughter were transferred between several small boats before being picked up by Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency, Basarnas, and evacuated to Labuan Bajo later that night.
The Putri Sakinah was carrying 11 people when it went down around 8:30 p.m. local time on December 26, roughly 30 minutes after departing from Komodo Island en route to Pulau Padar. On board were six members of a Spanish family, four Indonesian crew members, and one tour guide. Seven survived.
Those still missing are Fernando Martín Carreras and three of his children: Martines Ortuno Maria Lia, Martin Garcia Mateo, and Martinez Ortuno Enriquejavier. All four are Spanish nationals. The wreck of the vessel itself has also not yet been located.
Search efforts have been hampered by deteriorating weather conditions, including strong currents, heavy rain, and limited underwater visibility. Despite these challenges, authorities say the operation will continue.
“The search for the four foreign nationals will resume tomorrow on the fourth day,” said Fathur Rahman, head of the Maumere Search and Rescue Office and mission coordinator, on Sunday night.
As divers and patrol boats continue to scan the waters of Komodo National Park, the case has drawn international attention, underscoring both the risks of travel during volatile sea conditions and the profound human cost behind a tragedy that began as a family holiday and ended in uncertainty and loss.