ANN/THE JAKARTA POST – A small boat carrying seven tourists capsized in the waters off Haria village on Haruku Island, Maluku, after encountering bad weather and large waves.
Of the seven passengers, four were Dutch students or activists, while the other three were residents of the neighbouring Saparua Island.
The Dutch nationals were Orbions Daan, 21; De Koning Gaia Annelee, 21; Van Der Lely Thom Luuk Stephan; and Lafeber Cornelis, 65. The Saparua residents were David Mateos Amahorseja, 49; Nurul Hidayah Wattiheluw, 30; and Lukas Souisa, 60. Six of the seven passengers were rescued, but Amahorseja, a member of Saniri Negeri Boi from Saparua district, Central Maluku, remained missing. The joint search and rescue team and residents were continuing the search. The boat’s captain Lukas said he had taken the group to Malona Island.
After spending a day enjoying the natural scenery there, the group decided to return to Haria village on the same boat. However, about two kilometres from Malona Island, large waves hit the boat around the waters of Tanjung Sembayang or Batu Burung.
“When we returned, the weather was bad and the waves were so high that the boat capsized,” Lukas said.
The vessel managed to stay afloat for a few minutes as the passengers tried to call for help on their phones, but the signal was weak. The boat began slowly capsizing and the passengers jumped into the sea to save themselves.
“I kept trying to turn the boat around, but I couldn’t, so we tried to swim to shore,” said Lukas.
