Three killed after boat carrying soccer team capsizes in Batam

The Star

15 hours ago

FILE photo. Survivors sit on the hull of a capsized boat on March 21, 2025 as they wait to be rescued after the tourist snorkeling boat was hit by waves in Nusa Penida, Bali. - Photo: AFP file
JAKARTA: The Tanjungpinang Search and Rescue Agency has said that three people who went missing after a longboat capsized near Nenek Island, Batam, Riau Islands, on Wednesday (June 25) have been found dead.
Agency head Fazzli said the three victims were discovered on Friday morning, and their remains have been transported to the Riau Islands Police Bhayangkara Hospital in Batam for identification.
'Two of the victims have been identified, while authorities are still working to confirm the identity of the third,' he said on Friday (June 27), as reported by CNN Indonesia.
Fazzli added that the first victim was discovered around 6am by a fisherman near Buluh Bulang Island, approximately 13 kilometers from Nenek Island.
About two hours later, rescuers located the second victim near Panjang Island, around 10 kilometers from the accident site.
The third victim was also found later that morning by local fisherfolk near Tanjung Sauh Island, roughly 28 kilometers from Nenek Island.
Previously, the Tanjungpinang Search and Rescue Agency's head of operations, Eryk Subariyanto, said the agency had deployed a rescue boat, a motorized rubber boat, a thermal drone and handheld sonar devices to assist in locating the victims.
'We're also working with the Riau Islands Police, local Navy personnel, the coast guard and local residents in the search efforts,' Eryk said on Friday, as reported by Antaranews.
He added that on the third day of the operation, rescuers planned to expand the search area by two miles to both the north and south of the accident site.
'The search area was determined based on statements from surviving passengers, along with our projections of the victims' possible locations using tidal pattern analysis,' he said.
According to authorities, the victims and 10 others departed from Nenek Island at around 4pm on Wednesday to play in a soccer match on Setokok Island.
However, during the journey, their longboat was struck by strong waves and capsized.
Local residents rescued four passengers several hours after the accident.
Meanwhile, six others clung to the overturned longboat and managed to swim ashore when the vessel drifted close to an island around 9pm on Wednesday.
However, three passengers, 23-year-old Muhammad Fahri Kurniawan, 28-year-old Fadli and 24-year-old Firdaus, went missing following the incident.
Authorities previously said rescue efforts for the three missing victims were hampered by poor weather, strong winds and rough seas.
The Batam boat accident occurred just a month after another boat capsized near Zakat Beach in Bengkulu City, Bengkulu, resulting in eight deaths and dozens of injuries.
Bengkulu Search and Rescue Agency spokesperson Mega Maysilva said the boat, the KM Tiga Putra, was carrying 98 tourists and six crew members on a trip from Bengkulu City to Tikus Island on the morning of May 11, a journey that typically lasts between 40 and 60 minutes.
The accident occurred around 4pm as the boat was making its return trip to Bengkulu. "The boat's engine suddenly failed when it was hit by strong waves and a storm.
The vessel began rocking uncontrollably, throwing passengers into the sea before it ultimately sank," he said last month, as quoted by Kompas.
Preliminary investigations suggest negligence on the part of the ship operators, as the vessel was carrying passengers beyond its maximum capacity. - The Jakarta Post/ANN