As of 3 p.m. local time on Thursday, the missing sailor was yet to be found, said Charles Y. Batlajery, head of the Search and Rescue (SAR) Agency-Timika Office's operational affairs.
The sailor, identified as Muhammad Royani (43), was reported missing by the vessel's skipper, Muhammad Hidayat, after he and other crew members could not find him during breakfast on Wednesday morning.
According to Hidayat's report, Royani may have fallen into the sea while defecating around 3 a.m. local time on Wednesday (April 24), Batlajery said.
Before calling for the Timika SAR Agency's help, Hidayat and all the crew members tried to search for Royani around the Timika waters that the vessel had passed through earlier.
They, however, failed to locate him, so Hidayat decided to ask the SAR agency to help search for the missing crew member, Batlajery added.
Fatal accidents have occurred several times in recent years in the Papua waters.
On December 12, 2021, fuel carrier MV Kalimas 4, for instance, sank in the Asmat estuary waters. Six sailors who were on board the vessel when it sank were rescued by KMN Hasil Tuna, a tuna fishing vessel.
The rescued sailors, identified as Ansar (skipper), Ruslan, Supliansyah, Nikmat, Haswan, and Mirzan (crew members), were later evacuated to Timika.
The six sailors were found drifting in the sea by KMN Hasil Tuna crew members.
Owned by state electricity company PLN, MV Kalimas 4 was entering the Asmat estuary waters with 150 kiloliters of fuel on board on December 12 when it was struck by sea waves reaching four meters in height.
The ship sank after its engine stopped, according to the SAR Agency-Timika Office.
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Translator: Agustina EJ, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Anton Santoso
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