LABUAN BAJO, Indonesia — The body of a young Spanish girl, a victim of the Putri Sakinah sailing tragedy, was transferred from Labuan Bajo to Bali on Tuesday, a move necessitated by the severely limited mortuary facilities in the primary gateway to Komodo National Park.
The deceased, identified as K.M., the daughter of missing Valencia CF women’s football coach Martin Carreras Fernando, was recovered from the waters near Padar Island on Monday. Her evacuation underscores a critical infrastructural gap in a region marketed as a global super-priority tourism destination.
Budi Widjaja, a liaison assisting the Fernando family, confirmed the transfer. “The plan is to move her to Bali today. The paperwork with the company handling the repatriation is still being processed,” he stated on Tuesday morning.
The decision was driven by stark logistical realities. The local hospital in Labuan Bajo, serving the entire West Manggarai Regency, has only two functioning mortuary refrigeration units.
“The body had to be evacuated to Bali because the supply of morgue refrigerators at the local hospital is very limited,” Mr. Widjaja explained. With the extensive search for the coach and two other missing children entering its sixth day on Wednesday, authorities deemed it imperative to free up capacity. “The evacuation was done to provide space for potential new victims to be handled properly,” he added, noting the real risk of facilities being overwhelmed.
The ongoing search operation, led by the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), continues to scour the waters around Padar Island, with teams expanding the area based on current patterns. Coordination is underway to maximize surface sweeps and diving efforts.
This logistical bottleneck has prompted calls for an urgent governmental review. Tourism and safety advocates stress that destinations like Labuan Bajo, which attract high volumes of international visitors for adventurous marine tourism, must be equipped with commensurate emergency and medical support infrastructure, including adequate mortuary facilities.
The tragedy has now entered a complex phase of international crisis management, blending ongoing search efforts with the grim logistics of handling fatalities and supporting grieving families far from home. The body of K.M. will remain in a hospital in Bali, a island with far more robust international services, awaiting the arrival of family and final arrangements.
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