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Death lurks in water at southern Java beaches
Four-year-old Fatin shouted to her mother Susiana as a boat searching for two drowning people was pulling up on Pangi Beach in Blitar, East Java, on Friday
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span>Four-year-old Fatin shouted to her mother Susiana as a boat searching for two drowning people was pulling up on Pangi Beach in Blitar, East Java, on Friday.
She was looking for her brother, 19-year-old Eko Julianto, who happened to be one of the victims. Eko was last seen on Tuesday morning, along with 16 friends from Ngoro district in Jombang.
They were on holiday and some of them had been swimming near the beach for some 30 minutes before the waves suddenly grew larger and dragged them away from the shore.
“We threw them ring buoys, but only four of them made it, the two others [are] missing,” said Kateni, a fisherman volunteering as a lifeguard at the beach.
The other missing teen is 20-year-old Indra Prasetyo, Eko’s neighbor.
Both victims’ families have been sheltering for four days at the beach to wait for answers from the Search and Rescue Team (SAR).
“I will wait here until they find [Eko], dead or alive. He was born to me and will come back to me,” said Susiana.
Ali, one of Eko’s friends who survived, is left traumatized by the experience. He said he heard Eko’s voice in his head, asking his parents to float offerings to the sea, including Susiana’s most-loved clothes to satisfy the spirits of the oceans. Local myth has it that the Southern beach of Java is ruled by Nyi Roro Kidul, a spirit of the southern seas that often demands sacrifices from residents.
“I have done all that,” Susiana said.
SAR team coordinator Brian Gautama said a body of a drowned victim should emerge to the surface after four days. However, the 12 SAR members with their four boats have not found anything or any clues as to their whereabouts.
“[The constraints] are the weather and high waves. According to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, waves at the southern coast of Java can reach 6 meters until June 18,” he said.
He said the location of the victims’ bodies would be determined by wind and sea currents.
Many a tourist has drowned at southern Java beaches, raising safety concerns.
According to the Trenggalek office of the National Search and Rescue Agency, at least nine tourists died in 2019 on the coastline stretching from Pacitan in the western part to Blitar to the eastern part.
Brian said most disasters and accidents handled by the SAR team were cases of drowning, which accounted for 35 percent of all incidents.
According to him, fatalities at southern Java beaches could be reduced if the authorities managing tourist sites implemented safety procedures, including providing life jackets, overseer stations, lifeguards and so on.
“I only know of one beach, Telengria Beach in Pacitan, which implemented standard procedures,” he said.
Brian said banning visitors from swimming was ridiculous while almost every local administration was promoting the beaches as tourist destinations. He mentioned Prigi Beach in Trenggalek as a safe destination for swimming, thanks to its fjord.
At Pangi Beach, where Eko is believed to have drowned, there is only a group of fishermen volunteering as lifeguards.
“Now, however, there is some village-owned company that took over the matter,” Kateni said, “even though they cannot swim and are not aware of the terrain.”
Trenggalek Tourism and Culture Agency head Sunyoto acknowledged the lack of safety at some of the beaches, blaming limited funds for operations, such as paying professional lifeguards.
“All we can do is ask someone to act as a lifeguard and take a levy [for that service],” he said to The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
He said the agency would find a way to increase the safety of tourists visiting beaches.
