BANJARMASIN (TABIRkota) — A dive team from the Basarnas Special Group (BSG), part of the National Search and Rescue Agency, recovered two more victims from the KM Virgo Transport 8 in the Java Sea on Monday (Sept. 21).
Basarnas Chief, Air Marshal Mohammad Syafi’i, stated that the two male victims were found inside the vessel while the BSG team was conducting underwater search and dive operations.
"The two victims were located at 09:04 WITA and 09:13 WITA, respectively, and were subsequently airlifted via Helicopter HR 3601 to the Syamsudin Noor Air Force Base in Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan, at 11:20 WITA," he said at the Trisakti Port Command Post in Banjarmasin on Monday (Sept. 21) afternoon.
He noted that the recovery of these two victims marks a significant development in the ongoing search and rescue (SAR) operation conducted by the Joint SAR Team to locate all remaining victims of the ill-fated vessel.
"Search and evacuation efforts are being carried out to the fullest extent by deploying all available personnel and resources," he said.
He added that the recovery of the two victims was the result of the hard work of all elements within the Joint SAR team.
"We ensure that every victim found is immediately evacuated and handled according to established procedures," Mohammad Syafi’i added.
Upon arrival at Syamsudin Noor Air Force Base in Banjarbaru, the two victims were transported to Bhayangkara Hospital in Banjarmasin for identification by the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team. (ra)
