Search intensifies for four Spanish tourists after boat sinks

The KM Putri Sakinah went down in the Padar Strait on Friday night while traveling between Komodo Island and Padar Island, plunging a popular tourist route into crisis and leaving four Spanish nationals unaccounted for. Of the 11 people aboard, seven were rescued, including two Spanish tourists, four crew members and a tour guide, while authorities described the four missing as a single family, a husband, wife and two children.

Search and rescue teams entered a second day of operations on Saturday, deploying rigid inflatable boats from the Manggarai Barat SAR post, vessels from the Labuan Bajo port authority, diving teams and support from the Indonesian Navy’s local base. Officials said the operation faced significant obstacles as seas remained turbulent after the sinking and visibility was limited.

Labuan Bajo port authority chief Stephanus Risdiyanto said the operation was balancing urgency with the need to protect rescuers. “Search operations are still ongoing, with priority given to the safety of SAR personnel and careful consideration of weather and sea conditions,” he said. Fathur Rahman, head of the Maumere Search and Rescue Office, provided details of the initial rescues and the family still missing, and added that authorities “hope today’s operation will yield positive results.”

Accounts from officials offered two principal explanations for the sinking. Fathur Rahman said the vessel suffered engine failure during the trip, after which it took on water and sank. The Labuan Bajo port authority pointed to extreme conditions at sea, reporting waves as high as three metres at the time of the incident and saying rough weather hampered the earliest search efforts. No definitive cause has been publicly confirmed.

Regional reports have given the names of the missing as Martin Carreras Fernando, Martin Garcia Mateo, Martines Ortuno Maria Lia and Martinez Ortuno Enriquejavier, though officials have not released an official passenger manifest or formally confirmed the spellings. The discrepancies in early coverage reflect differing initial accounts of the passenger mix, with some reports saying six Spanish tourists were on board. The consistent facts verified by rescuers are 11 aboard, seven survivors and four Spanish tourists missing.

Padar Island and parts of Komodo Island were temporarily closed to visitors after the accident. Komodo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site and an economic lifeline for many in East Nusa Tenggara, is heavily dependent on international tourism and on safe maritime operations to transport visitors between islands.

The sinking has prompted calls for a swift, transparent inquiry into maritime safety standards for tourist operators in the archipelago, where changing weather and aging vessels can combine with heavy visitor flows in peak season. For now, families await news and rescuers continue to comb the strait, constrained by weather and the hazards that have defined this urgent international search.