The family of a Chinese honeymoon couple who drowned while snorkeling in Labuan Bajo has now spent two days in the town waiting to bring their loved ones home, only to find the repatriation process still stalled a full ten days after the deaths, with no clear answer for why.
“The bodies have not yet been returned to their country,” said Paulus Ndarung, Acting Director of Komodo Regional General Hospital (RSUD), on Thursday, July 24, 2026, where the remains of Guo Xingyou, 29, and Sha Gingyang, 30, have remained in the hospital’s mortuary since the couple drowned on July 15.
A Honeymoon That Ended in Tragedy
Guo and Sha were on their honeymoon when they died while snorkeling in the waters off Pulau Kelor, a popular trekking and snorkeling destination near Labuan Bajo, on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
According to Paulus, the plan to repatriate the couple’s remains is still awaiting decisions from both local police and the Chinese Consulate General. What exactly is holding up that process at West Manggarai Police remains unclear, even to hospital officials managing the bodies.
“We are still waiting for supporting documentation from the Water and Air Police Unit,” said Aipda Fransiskus Jelahu, spokesperson for West Manggarai Police, offering little clarity on when the family might finally be able to take Guo and Sha home.
How the Deaths Unfolded
The two tourists are believed to have died after being swept by strong currents on the western side of Pulau Kelor, leading to extreme exhaustion.
The tragedy began when the open-deck vessel KM Rinca Story (GT 19), owned by Agus Prawijaya, departed Marina Waterfront Port in Labuan Bajo at approximately 10am on July 15, carrying a mix of domestic and international tourists to Pulau Kelor.
Upon arrival, the group went ashore and trekked before entering the water to snorkel. While the two Chinese tourists were in the water, no boat crew member or licensed professional guide was supervising them, their only guide was a vocational school student completing a field-work internship.
The couple was also not wearing life jackets while snorkeling. Boat crew had equipped them only with diving masks and fins.
Guo Xingyou was found floating in the water off Pulau Kelor. Fellow tourists attempted CPR, but he could not be revived. Sha Gingyang’s body was later located by a joint search and rescue team at a depth of 23 meters. Both bodies were evacuated to Komodo Regional General Hospital, where they have remained ever since.
A Family Waiting in a Town They Never Expected to Visit
For Guo and Sha’s family, the ten-day wait has meant arriving in a foreign country not for a wedding celebration or a visit to newlyweds, but to claim the bodies of a son and daughter-in-law who should have been returning from their honeymoon with photographs, not in caskets. Two days into their stay in Labuan Bajo, they remain without answers about when, or why not sooner, they’ll be permitted to bring the couple home.
The case has already drawn scrutiny over the lack of supervision and safety equipment provided to the tourists, and the prolonged repatriation delay now adds a second layer of distress for a family already grappling with sudden loss in an unfamiliar country, thousands of kilometers from home.
What’s Next
Neither the hospital nor West Manggarai Police have provided a timeline for when the necessary documentation will be completed or when the bodies will be released for repatriation. This report will be updated as more information becomes available.