Search Intensifies after Tour Boat Sinks near Padar Island

A wooden tour boat carrying 11 people sank Friday evening, December 26, in rough seas during a crossing from Komodo Island to Padar Island in Indonesia’s Komodo National Park. Maumere Search and Rescue Office officials reported that the vessel’s engine failed before it went down. Seven people were pulled to safety and taken to the port office in Labuan Bajo for medical attention, while four Spanish nationals remained unaccounted for as search and rescue teams worked through Saturday, December 27.

Authorities said the manifest included six Spanish tourists, four crew members and a local guide. Three survivors were picked up by a passing tourist vessel identified in local reporting as Nepton, and four others were recovered by joint search and rescue teams operating in the area. The missing have been described in several accounts as a single Spanish family of four, consisting of a husband, wife and two children, although at least one outlet reported a differing rescue breakdown that has not been reconciled by on scene officials.

Coordination of the response was led by the Maumere Search and Rescue Office with operational support from Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency, known as Basarnas, which released video showing teams working in choppy seas. Assets deployed and confirmed in reporting included rigid inflatable boats and a rescue ship, with assistance from nearby tourist vessels, local fishermen and residents. Initial briefings referenced helicopters and coastal patrols being mobilized, but corroborated accounts emphasize the contributions of small rescue craft and local boats in the immediate response.

Adverse weather significantly complicated efforts. Rescuers faced waves reported up to 2.5 meters, roughly 8.2 feet, and several accounts said darkness and storm conditions forced controllers to curtail or pause night operations. As daylight and somewhat improved weather arrived on Saturday morning, authorities intensified searches and expanded coordination among local vessels and official teams.

The incident has prompted scrutiny of safety and oversight in the thriving tourism zone. Komodo National Park attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors annually and the Labuan Bajo gateway has expanded rapidly in recent years. The sinking underscores persistent vulnerabilities in small vessel safety, engine maintenance standards, passenger manifests and emergency preparedness in remote island waters. Officials have not yet released the vessel registration details, a full passenger manifest, or the precise sequence that led to the reported engine failure.

Maumere Search and Rescue Office head Fathur Rahman is coordinating operations on scene and further updates are expected from Maumere SAR, Basarnas and local authorities in Labuan Bajo as conditions allow expanded searching. Videos and operational statements provide visual confirmation of the effort, but the identities of the missing and the final outcome of the searches remain unresolved. The case is likely to renew calls for stricter enforcement of maritime safety rules around Indonesia’s popular island destinations.