By Noel Caballero
Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, Dec 31 (EFE).— Indonesian authorities said on Wednesday they expect to extend the search for three Spaniards missing after a shipwreck off eastern Indonesia, beyond the seven-day period stipulated by law.
Speaking at a meeting at the command post in Labuan Bajo, from where part of the operation is coordinated, the local navy chief, Stephanus Risdiganto, said he “expects” the search to continue as additional resources are being deployed to the area to locate the missing Spaniards.
The sixth day of the operation, carried out on Wednesday, “did not yield any results,” Fathur Rahman, an official from the National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) coordinating the mission, told EFE at the end of the day.
Rahman said a decision on whether to extend the operation will be taken on Thursday “after assessing the results” of the seventh day of searches.
BASARNAS expanded the search area on Wednesday to 34.96 nautical miles, focusing mainly north of the site where the tourist boat sank last Friday near Padar Island, close to Komodo National Park.
The vessel went down after being hit by three large waves, Risdiganto previously told EFE.
Wednesday’s operation involved teams from BASARNAS, the police, the coast guard, the navy and the army, along with a dozen professional volunteer divers searching both the surface and seabed.
The search is set to resume at first light on Thursday, with sonar equipment to be used during the seventh day to scan the seabed.
If potential remains are detected, divers will attempt visual confirmation, officials said during Wednesday night’s meeting.
Locating the wreckage remains a key objective, as rescuers believe the bodies of the missing may be trapped inside the vessel.
Of the 11 people on board at the time of the accident, seven, two Spaniards, four Indonesian crew members and an Indonesian guide, were rescued.
The body of a Spanish minor was recovered on Monday.
The governor of East Nusa Tenggara province, where Labuan Bajo is located, Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena, visited the area of the accident on Wednesday.
He travelled by boat with local religious leaders to pray for the swift recovery of the missing.
Laka Lena also met on Tuesday night with the families of the three Spaniards, including Andrea Ortuño, one of the survivors of the shipwreck and the mother of the rescued minor and of the child whose body was found two days ago.
“We are going to find them,” the governor said during an emotional meeting attended by the father of the deceased child.
The three Spaniards still missing are Fernando Martín, a former footballer and coach of Valencia CF’s women’s B team, and two minors, one son of Martín and one son of Ortuño. The two adults were recently married. EFE
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