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Search for missing Spanish tourists ends
Authorities have called off the search for two Spanish men whose tour boat sank in waters near Sangeang Pulo Island, Bima regency, West Nusa Tenggara province, finding no sign of them after one week
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uthorities have called off the search for two Spanish men whose tour boat sank in waters near Sangeang Pulo Island, Bima regency, West Nusa Tenggara province, finding no sign of them after one week.
'The search operation officially ended on Saturday after the last search failed to find them. According to procedures, if nothing is found after seven days, search efforts will be called off,' West Nusa Tenggara Search and Rescue (SAR) head Budiman said on Sunday.
Budiman said his agency had informed the families of the missing who were taking part in the search over the last two days that the operation had ended.
He said the rescue team consisted of personnel from the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), the Indonesian Military (TNI), the Bima Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) and the National Police.
Budiman revealed that his agency had been informed by Bima Port management that an ID card of one of the victims, George Lois, had been found.
'I was told the ID card was found in Gilibanta Island waters,' he added.
Meanwhile, Agence France-Presse reported that Spain's foreign ministry had identified one of the victims as 43-year-old lawyer Victor Garcia Montes from Seville.
Earlier, police had said local fishermen had seen the two on the beach on the island but their fishing boat was unable to reach them due to bad weather.
Ships and helicopters were also unable to locate the missing.
The two Spanish tourists were among 15 foreign tourists and five domestic tourists on board the Versace Amara tour boat, which was on its way from Lombok Island, West Nusa Tenggara to Komodo Island national park in East Nusa Tenggara province.
The 40-passenger boat, which was carrying 25 people, including the boat's skipper, two crew members and two tour guides, was believed to have hit a reef before it sank on Aug. 16.
Survivors said the boat started sinking after a storm hit.
Some of them reportedly had to swim for hours to reach the nearest island while others held onto broken parts of the boat before being rescued.
Apart from Spain, the passengers of the ill-fated boat hailed from Germany, France, England, New Zealand and the Netherlands.
The incident was not the first in the area. A boat en route from Serangan in Bali to Gili Trawangan in West Nusa Tenggara sank with 40 tourists on board, most of them foreigners.
However, no casualties were reported.
