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Search Operation Closed, Fate of KMP Mutiara Victims Remains a Mystery
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Indonesia /Disasters & Emergencies

Search Operation Closed, Fate of KMP Mutiara Victims Remains a Mystery

From CNN Indonesia · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • Indonesian authorities have officially closed the search and rescue operation for victims of the KMP Mutiara Sentosa II ferry fire.
  • Several families remain anxious as their missing relatives, who were likely on board, have not been found or identified among the rescued or deceased.
  • Survivors' accounts suggest some victims may have fallen overboard multiple times after initial rescue attempts failed due to detached life vests.

The official search and rescue operation for victims of the KMP Mutiara Sentosa II ferry fire, which occurred in the waters north of Sumenep, Madura Island, East Java, has been closed. However, the fate of several passengers remains a mystery, leaving their families in distress and uncertainty.

After searching, he wasn't there, it's been confirmed. When I went to the post, I asked, and the answer was that officers are trying to find him.

โ€” AntonAnton, a relative of a missing crew member, describes his experience at the search post.

Families are anxiously awaiting news of their missing loved ones, whose names are not listed among those evacuated, either alive or deceased. Anton, whose brother Abdul Manan worked as a cook on the ferry, confirmed that his brother has not been found. He last contacted Abdul Manan during the ship's loading process, after which all communication ceased.

Yes, they said we are still trying to find him together.

โ€” AntonAnton relays the response from the ferry company PT Atosim Lampung Pelayaran (ALP) regarding the search for his brother.

Similar distress is felt by Muhammad Jasuar Bustam, whose father, Bustam Sanusi, a driver from Makassar, is also missing. Jasuar last communicated with his father via video call around 09:00 WIB on Sunday, August 2, but his father's phone became unreachable shortly thereafter. According to a survivor's account shared by a family friend, Bustam Sanusi reportedly fell overboard three times after initially being helped onto a life raft, as his life vest detached.

My father sent a video at 9 AM. After that, I tried to contact him again at 11:47 AM, but his phone was already inactive.

โ€” Muhammad Jasuar BustamJasuar recounts the last known communication with his father before he went missing.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by CNN Indonesia in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.