New Zealand Yacht Rescues Eight After Boat Sinks in Eastern Indonesia

A New Zealand-flagged yacht helped trigger the rescue of eight crew members after the Teluk Bara motor vessel sank off Tanjung Alang in eastern Indonesia. The Indonesian joint SAR team evacuated the survivors after they were spotted drifting at sea, according to Muhamad Arafah, head of Ambon’s Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), speaking in Ambon on Saturday. The distress report was filed around 07:35 a.m. Eastern Indonesia Time by resident Isjon Siwalette, after the wooden motor vessel sank earlier that morning near Tanjung Alang in Maluku Tengah District. Arafah said the SAR team departed about 07:50 a.m. using a rigid buoyancy boat, while state-owned rescue vessel KN SAR Abimanyu began searching around 10:50 a.m. The yacht Salty Dogz verified the crew’s safety at about 11:26 a.m., after which the survivors were transferred to KN SAR Abimanyu and taken to the BRIN Pier in Ambon. The crew had jumped overboard as high waves loosened lower-hull planks and flooded the vessel.