Indonesian rescue teams have recovered the body of a third victim and located the sunken tourist vessel that disappeared in rough seas off the eastern coast of Indonesia on December 26, nearly two weeks after the tragic accident.
The boat was discovered Tuesday approximately eight miles from the original accident site in the Padar Island Strait, near the tourist destination of Labuan Bajo. The recovery came after a local fisherman reported finding both a body and the hull of the vessel, according to Fathur Rahman, head of the local search and rescue agency.
Seven passengers survived the sinking when it occurred. Four members of a Spanish family were reported missing: 44-year-old Fernando Martin Carreras, a soccer coach for Valencia CF’s women’s football B team, and three of his children. Rescue teams had previously recovered the bodies of Carreras and one of his daughters. The body retrieved Tuesday marks the third victim found. One child from the family remains missing.
Carreras’s wife and another daughter were among the survivors pulled from the water when the boat went down. The family had been vacationing in the Komodo National Park area at the time of the accident.
Search operations will resume Wednesday for the last missing victim, a boy from the same family. Rahman announced at a press conference that rescue efforts have expanded significantly, now covering double the original search radius of 5.6 miles from the sinking site.
The intensive search operation has employed multiple techniques, including sweeping nearby islands, deploying sonar equipment, and conducting underwater dives. Rescue teams have concentrated their efforts across the waters surrounding Padar Island, including the smaller islands of Serai, Pengah, Papagarang, Siaba Besar, and the northern portion of Kanawa Island.
The tragedy highlights ongoing safety concerns in Indonesian waters. As an archipelago nation comprising more than 17,000 islands, Indonesia relies heavily on boat transportation. However, lax safety standards and overcrowding problems contribute to frequent maritime accidents throughout the region.
Komodo National Park, where the family was vacationing, holds UNESCO World Heritage status and draws thousands of international visitors annually. The park is renowned for its rugged terrain, pristine beaches, and its most famous resident, the endangered Komodo dragon. Tourists from around the world visit the area for diving expeditions, trekking adventures, and wildlife observation tours.
The circumstances surrounding the boat’s sinking remain under investigation. Authorities have not yet released details about what caused the vessel to go down in rough seas, though maritime accidents in Indonesian waters often involve a combination of weather conditions, vessel maintenance issues, and safety standard violations.
As rescue operations continue, the focus remains on locating the final missing victim while providing support to the surviving family members who endured this devastating loss during what should have been a holiday adventure.
Related: Federal Prosecutors Estimate Minnesota Fraud Scandal Could Exceed $9 Billion
