“The victim, Zhang Xiaohan, a 30-year old diver from China, was found dead by a joint SAR team at 2:55 p.m., about 78 metres below the sea level in the Kelapa Dua diving trail,” East Kalimantan's Balikpapan City SAR officer Endrow Sasmita stated on Saturday evening.
Zhang was found near the location where he was last seen, Sasmita said, adding that the evacuation marked the conclusion of the search operation at 3:45 p.m.
The victim’s body was evacuated to the joint SAR team checkpoint at the Green Nirvana Jetty for handling by the medical team before being sent to Abdul Rivai General Hospital in Tanjung Redeb in Berau District, he informed.
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“The search location was challenging. Fortunately, unified support from all parties helped us find the victim,” Sasmita remarked.
According to him, Zhang had gone diving in a tour group off the coast of Kakaban Island on Friday (May 2) morning. The group finished their activities at 9 a.m., as instructed by their diving guide, identified as Willy.
However, as Zhang ascended until around five metres below the surface, he lost grip of his camera, prompting him to dive back to retrieve the missing camera. As he failed to appear on the surface minutes after diving, the team reported Zhang missing.
The joint SAR team then initiated a search operation with support of the Balikpapan SAR office, the Berau SAR team, the police and military, and local divers.
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Translator: M Ghofar, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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