{"id":3674,"date":"2025-12-31T01:31:32","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T17:31:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/?p=3674"},"modified":"2025-12-31T01:31:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T17:31:35","slug":"fifth-day-of-search-for-sunken-tourist-vessel-off-komodo-hampered-by-strong-currents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/fifth-day-of-search-for-sunken-tourist-vessel-off-komodo-hampered-by-strong-currents\/","title":{"rendered":"Fifth Day of Search for Sunken Tourist Vessel Off Komodo Hampered by Strong Currents"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara<\/strong> \u2014 The fifth day of search operations for three missing passengers from the sunken tourist vessel Putri Sakinah<\/em> ended without results on Tuesday, as powerful sea currents continued to obstruct underwater efforts in the waters off Padar Island, part of Indonesia\u2019s Komodo National Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joint search and rescue teams confirmed that no victims were located during Tuesday\u2019s operation. Only fragments believed to be from the vessel were recovered from the search area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have not yet achieved any findings on the fifth day,\u201d said Fathur Rahman<\/strong>, Head of the Maumere Search and Rescue Office and the designated SAR Mission Coordinator, speaking from the operational command post at Marina Labuan Bajo Port on Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Rahman, the primary challenge remains the extreme strength of underwater currents, which reached speeds of up to eight knots<\/strong> \u2014 far exceeding the safe limit for diving operations, typically around one knot<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt that level, the current has a severe impact on diver safety and effectiveness,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt significantly limits how long and how deep our teams can operate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advanced Technology, Limited Conditions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
\n
\"A
A marine drone belonging to the East Nusa Tenggara Regional Police (NTT) was deployed to assist in the search for victims of the sunken pinisi boat in the Padar Island Strait, Komodo National Park, Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai (Photo: West Manggarai Police Public Relations Document)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Despite deploying a wide array of resources, including more than a dozen trained divers<\/strong>, 12 search vessels<\/strong>, underwater sonar systems<\/strong>, seabob propulsion devices<\/strong>, and thermal drones<\/strong>, the search yielded no new leads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sonar equipment, provided with assistance from the East Nusa Tenggara Regional Police, is capable of scanning underwater objects within a 200-metre radius<\/strong>. Thermal drones operated by Basarnas were used to monitor the sea surface for signs of the missing victims. Both methods, however, were constrained by environmental conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rahman confirmed that search efforts will continue on Wednesday, with additional sonar support<\/strong> scheduled to be deployed in hopes of expanding underwater coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Missing Family Members<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The three individuals still unaccounted for are Martin Carreras<\/a><\/strong>, a Spanish national who serves as a coach for Valencia CF\u2019s women\u2019s B team, and his two young sons<\/strong>. A daughter who had been missing alongside them was found earlier on Monday morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tragedy has drawn international attention, particularly in Spain, where Carreras is known within football circles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Happened<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Putri Sakinah<\/em>, a traditional Indonesian pinisi-style tourist vessel<\/strong>, sank on Friday evening (26 December 2025)<\/strong> at approximately 8.30pm local time<\/strong> while transiting the waters between islands near Padar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On board were 11 people<\/strong>: six Spanish tourists from the same family, four crew members, and one tour guide. The Spanish family consisted of Carreras, his wife, and their four children, aged between 7 and 12 years old<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seven people survived the incident \u2014 including all crew members, the tour guide, Carreras\u2019 wife, and their youngest daughter \u2014 and were rescued shortly after the sinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Challenging Maritime Environment<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The waters surrounding Padar Island are known among mariners for strong tidal currents and rapidly changing sea conditions<\/strong>, particularly at night. While the investigation into the cause of the sinking is ongoing, rescue authorities continue to emphasise that environmental factors are playing a decisive role in the complexity of the search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As operations move into their sixth day, hopes remain focused on calmer seas \u2014 and on the relentless efforts of rescue teams working against time and tide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara \u2014 The fifth day of search operations for three missing passengers from the sunken tourist vessel Putri Sakinah ended without results on Tuesday, as powerful sea currents continued to obstruct underwater efforts in the waters off Padar Island, part of Indonesia\u2019s Komodo National Park. Joint search and rescue teams confirmed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3532,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_bookmark_settings":[],"jnews_food_recipe":[],"enable_food_recipe":"","food_recipe_title":"","food_recipe_description":"","food_recipe_serve":"","food_recipe_time":"","food_recipe_prep":"","food_recipe_level":"","food_recipe_keywords":"","food_recipe_category":"","food_recipe_cuisine":"","food_recipe_yield":"","food_recipe_calories":"","enable_print_recipe":"","ingredient":[],"instruction":"","jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_review":[],"enable_review":"","type":"","name":"","summary":"","brand":"","sku":"","good":[],"bad":[],"score_override":"","override_value":"","rating":[],"price":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"jnews_post_split":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,61,76,53],"tags":[47,106,146,82,516,77,62,190,433,54,384,519,55],"class_list":["post-3674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bali-update","category-global-impacts","category-national","category-weather-natural-events","tag-bali","tag-bali-expat","tag-bali-life","tag-bali-tourism","tag-fernando-martin-carreras","tag-indonesia","tag-international","tag-komodo-island","tag-labuan-bajo","tag-news","tag-search-and-rescue-sar","tag-spain","tag-weather"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3674\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}