KARIMUN, KOMPAS.com - The histerical screams enchoed when the Dumai Express 10 was hit by a massive wave in the waters of Tokong Hiu, Karimun, Sunday. The ship's starboard (right side) that accomodated over 278 passengers was split.
As the ship broke, water flooded into the ship rapidly. The ship dived. Around 20 minutes later, it sank.
The Department of Health declared that the casualties have reached 29. 245 people survived, while 17 are still missing. "We've found 29 people dead," said the Department of Health's head of crisis management center, Rustam S. Pakaya.
Bambang Saputra, the aide of the deputy mayor of Batam city, Ria Saptarika, also drowned in the incident. Bambang together with Amirudin AT (father), Khadijah (mother), and his two younger siblings Arsyad and Rayhan, were going to attend the wedding of a relative in Bengkalis.
Luckily Bambang was rescued and brought to Karimun RSUD (regional public hospital). Meanwhile though there has been no news of Bambang's family. Bambang who was histerical had to be drugged to sleep.
Until last night, Bambang's home at Kompleks Tiban 3, Block A8 No. 119, Batam, has been crowded by relatives and neighbors around the yard and living room. The presence of neighbors and colleagues is a form of support and empathy for the terrible accident. They prayed together while waiting for news of Bambang's four family members.
"We're waiting for news about Mr. Amir (Bambang's father), Mrs. Khadijah (mother) and his two younger siblings who are still kids, Arsyad and Rayhan. They're still so young, I hope they survive," said one of the relatives there.
The deputy mayor of Batam, Ria Saptarika, also panicked. Ria was busy searching for updates about his aide. "Please pray for us, Bambang, and his family who are still lost at sea," said Ria. The survivors currently are still staying at the residence of the regency head of Karimun, Nurdin Basirun. Some others have been evacuated to navy command centre HQ of Karimun.
Fariz Khaitumanah, a survivor, heard a loud boom as the wave hit the ship that he was on. "I saw that the front part of the ship had split in two and impact was so hard that the TV in front of us fell," said Fariz (24).
Within seconds the water flooded in and was knee-high. "I noticed that the passengers didn't have time to grab a life-jacket, and they all ran to the back of the ship," he said.
Masdianto, another passenger, tried to calm a fellow passenger. But the other passenger was still panicking. "Unfortunately I saw a lot of families seemed resigned and they remained seated," said Masdianto.
Some passengers went to higher parts of the ship. And there were some who jumped out the window.
"I noticed that the ship was slowly sinking. I didn't see anyone jumping out. So I took the initiative to be the first jumper, and fortunately others followed," said Fariz.
Fariz's daring act was imitated. If not, the life casualties would've been higher due to more people sinking with the ship.
After jumping, Fariz swam as best he could. In 15 minutes the whole ship had sunk.
A dramatic sight followed, when Fariz had to see lifeless babies and young mothers emerge one by one onto the water's surface, floating before his eyes.
The evacuation after Dumai Express 10 had sunk was heart-wrenching. Some SAR (search and rescue) members confessed that the ship was no longer visible. There were only casualties floating at sea, some of them wearing life-jackets.
Those without life-jackets had to fight against death by drowning. Generally those were already very weak.
"We could imagine how the passengers must have panicked. We also saw flotsam all around. Baby clothes, and other personal effects," said Nur, a SAR member.
For evacuation the customs office of Riau Islands also deployed a BC 20003 ship. After patrolling approximately two hours, the team managed to evacuate eight survivors and retrieve one female life casualty.
"We first found survivors, a man and a woman. Both wore life-jackets and were assumed husband and wife. They were fighting against the big waves," said Yanto, a crew member.
Yanto recalled, on seeing those two, his team threw lifebuoys at them. Then the team members pulled them aboard.
A few minutes later we found the female life-casualty. She was dying and had a head-wound," he added.
Yanto also said that some of the life casualties found weren't wearing life-jackets. They were very weak and some had wounds assumed to be from impacts with the ship's body when they were flung into the sea. That was confirmed by several survivors that when the ship was about to sink the passengers were pushing one another and fighting for life-jackets.
During evacuation, the company also deployed two ships, Dumai Express 8 and 19. The ships were operated to retrieve victims after they were rescued by smaller boats, including the BC speed-boat.
Even the Dumai Express 19 had foundered at sea due to the high waves. Fortunately, after stopping a while the ship could move again to receive the surviving victims from other boats.
According to the report from the tribune, when the ships with the victims docked, hundreds of family members of the victims were already waiting. Their wails reverberated on seeing their family members lying down on the ships. Some were relieved to see that their famiy members who survived were all right.
At the same time thousands of locals also crowded the service house of the head of Regency of Karimun, Nording Basirun, in Taman Bunga. At that house the survivors were sheltered. While injured or deceased ones were immediately brought to the Karimun RSUD.
A hearbreaking scene ensued when the victims' family members arrived at Karimun RSUD. Their cries filled every corner of the room on seeing the dead victims. Based on the data from the RSUD, six casualties were kids under two years old. (msa/yah/bur/san/apr/tia/C17-09)
