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Two tourists still missing as search continues

The search for two Spanish tourists who went missing after the boat they were in sank off Sangeang Pulo Island in Bima regency, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) continued on Thursday

Markus Makur and Indah Setiawati (The Jakarta Post)
Flores, East Nusa Tenggara/Jakarta
Fri, August 22, 2014

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Two tourists still missing as search continues

T

he search for two Spanish tourists who went missing after the boat they were in sank off Sangeang Pulo Island in Bima regency, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) continued on Thursday.

The search was being conducted jointly by the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), the Bima Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), the Military and the police.

An official said family and friends of the missing tourists had also joined the search effort. '€œFamily and friends of the victims from Spain have rented a boat to search in areas around Sangeang Pulo in Wera district,'€ Bima Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Beny Basen told The Jakarta Post over the phone on Thursday afternoon.

He said that as of 4:50 p.m. on Thursday, the search was still ongoing, but so far to no avail. The search was focused on Gili Banta waters.

When asked about the information provided by Bima fishermen who claimed to have seen the two tourists on a beach in Sangeang Pulo, Beny said the search and rescue (SAR) team had checked the location and had not found the missing tourists there.

He said that the fishermen might have seen shadows on the beach or even some of their own people. The fishermen said they were unable to approach the beach because of bad weather and heavy seas.

Head of the Mataram branch of Basarnas Budiawan said the search effort in the following days would be expanded to Kupang and Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

'€œWe have scoured the waters and beaches around the accident scene, including Sangeang Pulo, Tambora island and Gili Banta. We have contacted officials in Kupang regarding the expansion of the search area,'€ he told the Post over the phone late on Thursday.

Budiawan said that besides expanding the search area his office had also coordinated with other fishermen and residents who lived on the islands to help the search effort.

'€œThe family also plans to use a helicopter,'€ he said.

Secretary of the Bima BPBD, Jarudin, confirmed that the two missing tourists had not been found.

He said members of the joint SAR team would continue their search around Sangeang Pulo and a number of other areas in Bima regency.

Asked whether there would be a time limit for the search, Jarudin said that would depend on the decision of Basarnas and the NTB'€™s BPBD.

The missing tourists were among 20 foreign nationals on board the tourist boat the Versace Amara that was travelling from Labuhan Lombok, East Lombok regency, NTB, to the Komodo National Park in NTT on Saturday. It sank off Sangeang Pulo after hitting a reef.

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