Fisherman missing after being struck by lightning

Indah Setiawati and Luh De Suriyani ,  THE JAKARTA POST ,  DENPASAR   |  Fri, 02/20/2009 2:55 PM  |  Bali

Police Thursday kept up their search for a fisherman lost in the Indian Ocean since Tuesday evening after the boat he was aboard with others was struck by lightning during hard rains and heavy winds off Uluwatu beach in Badung regency.

"We're still working with the rescue team to comb the beaches around the area," Kedonganan Marine Police chief Second Insp. I Nyoman Sudiana said Thursday afternoon.

He said he had informed other marine stations and Balawista lifeguard posts along beaches in the regency to stay alert for any sign of the missing man.

Sudiana said the fisherman Samsudin and his crewmate Deni Aryanto left their house on Jl. Segara Madu in Kelan Tuban in the afternoon. They set out in the same boat with other fishermen despite the rain.

"At around 9 p.m. they were struck by lightning. One of them has survived with burns on his arms and legs. He was taken to Sanglah Hospital," he said.

While he was receiving treatment at the hospital, Deni told reporters all he had heard was a loud explosion.

"It all happened so fast. After the explosion, I saw my left arm was bleeding," he said Wednesday, adding that when he turned around to look where Samsudin had been sitting, he was gone.

Other fishermen sailing nearby managed to rescue Deni. They testified they had seen Samsudin tumble into the sea after the lightning hit him. Deni said though the waves were not high, it was pouring raining and the wind was blowing hard.

The lightning had damaged some parts of the boat and toppled its mast. Sudiana said his officers succeeded in dragging the boat to the beach.

According to the data from the Kedonganan Marine Police, four fishermen have been lost at sea so far this year. This month alone, Samsudin was the second fisherman to disappear.

On Feb. 2, Kahbi, who hails from Banyuwangi, East Java, went missing when the boat he was aboard with two others capsized, smashed by storms in the same area off Uluwatu beach.

The Denpasar office of the meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency has warned fishermen that high waves and heavy winds should last until March, especially along the island's southern coast.

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