The search continues in eastern Indonesian waters after the capsize of a tourist boat in the four members of a Valencian family: the father and three minors.
The accident occurred on Friday around 8:30 p.m. local time (2:30 p.m. in mainland Spain), when the boat suffered an engine failure and ended up sinking near the island of Padarone of the most visited enclaves of the Komodo National Park, not far from the port of Labuan Bajo.
What happened and how many people were on board
According to the Search and Rescue Team (SAR), The boat was carrying 11 people.: the Spanish family, four crew members and a tour guide. Seven were rescued alive, including the mother and youngest daughter of the family, as well as the crew members and the guide.
Four people remain missing and location tasks could last between three and four days, if conditions allow.
The work is being carried out in an adverse context. The SAR has reported waves up to 1.5 meters, strong currents around Padar and torrential rains that reduce visibility. The port authority of Labuan Bajo even raised the size of the waves to three meters at the time of the incident, which made the first searches difficult, according to its manager, Stephanus Risdiyanto.
Who are the missing
Among the missing are Fernando Martín Carreras, former footballer and coach of the Valencia CF women’s B team, and three of his children, ages 12, 10 and 9. The mother and youngest daughter, 7 years old, survived the shipwreck and are now out of danger.
The grandfather and father-in-law, Enrique Ortuño, owner of the well-known El Coso restaurant in Valencia, has explained that he maintains constant contact with his daughter. In statements to EFE Agencyexpressed his pessimism about the chances of finding the missing alive.
How the sinking occurred
The story of the survivors coincides in two successive impacts. Shortly after setting sail, the boat received a first blow of the waves, which caused some passengers to fall into the seaamong them the Spanish mother and youngest daughter. A second blow damaged the lower part of the boat, which broke and sank quickly. The rest of the family remained on board at the time.
“My daughter and my granddaughter were thrown because they were in a higher area; they fell into the sea and were rescued. My three grandchildren and my son-in-law were possibly trapped when the boat broke up and sank,” Ortuño explained.
Consular assistance and coordination with Spain
Indonesian authorities They have officially confirmed the disappearance to Spain. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has indicated that the Consulate in Jakarta is paying permanent attention to the mother and daughter, with an Embassy official already deployed to Labuan Bajo and direct contact with the families. RTVE reported that consular assistance is maintained while the searches continue.
Padar Island remains closed to tourists due to extreme weather conditions, a measure that complicates rescue logistics. The teams work coordinated by sea and air, waiting for improvement windows that will allow the search radius to be safely expanded.
Known risk area
Indonesia is an archipelago of about 17,000 islands and maritime accidents are not uncommon. Common causes include insufficient safety equipment, poor infrastructure, overloading of passengers, lax enforcement and bad weather. Local authorities insist that exceptional waves were decisive in this case.
What can happen now
The next few hours are critical. The SAR has indicated that it will maintain operations as long as conditions allow. In similar scenarios, the probability of survival drops rapidly after the first 48-72 hours, especially in strong currents and rough seas.
Even so, the teams do not rule out any hypothesis and continue to track drift zones calculated from the wind and currents.
