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Asia News Network
7 hours ago
- General
- Asia News Network
Three dead, two missing, after ferry catches fire in Indonesia's North Sulawesi
July 22, 2025 JAKARTA – At least three people were killed and two others remain missing after the KMP Barcelona V ferry caught fire on Sunday in the waters off Talise Island, North Minahasa Regency, North Sulawesi, marking the latest in a series of marine-related incidents in recent weeks. The KMP Barcelona V departed Melonguane Port in the Talaud Islands Regency, North Sulawesi, in the early hours of Sunday on a routine voyage to the provincial capital Manado. The trip, which covers approximately 271 kilometers, typically takes around 14 hours. At approximately 2:00 p.m., however, a fire broke out onboard as the vessel was navigating near Talise Island, roughly 60 kilometers from its destination. Flames and thick smoke quickly engulfed the upper decks, forcing many passengers to jump into the sea. Videos circulating on social media showed dozens of passengers wearing life jackets, panicking as they floated near the vessel. Some were seen sitting along the edge of the burning ship, while others leapt into the water to escape the blaze. Local fisherfolk in the area rushed to the scene to assist in the evacuation. Meanwhile, a joint rescue team, comprised of personnel from the local search and rescue agency, ship operators and the military, immediately deployed six ships to aid in the rescue efforts. North Sulawesi Governor Yulius Selvanus reported that the fire likely originated inside a passenger cabin on the upper deck while most passengers were having lunch. 'We received information that the fire first appeared in room number 33, but further investigation is still underway,' he said on Monday. At least three people have been confirmed dead. According to reports, the victims were patients traveling to mainland Sulawesi for medical treatment, and one of them was a pregnant woman. Authorities initially reported five fatalities but later revised the death toll to three. Search efforts are still underway for two missing passengers, identified as Levi Aiba and Hamen Langinana, who were reported missing by their families. An official manifest listed 15 crew members and 280 passengers aboard the vessel. However, authorities later stated that the actual number of people onboard was 580. It remains unclear whether the ferry was operating beyond its maximum capacity at the time of the incident, though some media outlets have reported that the vessel is capable of carrying up to 600 passengers. Director General of Sea Transportation at the Transportation Ministry, Muhammad Masyhud, stated that the victims' remains have been transported to Bhayangkara Hospital in Manado, while survivors have been taken to various medical facilities across the city. 'Our priority at the moment is to ensure that all passengers receive adequate medical treatment,' he said on Monday, as reported by Antaranews. Masyhud also confirmed that authorities from the Bitung Sea and Shipping Surveillance Office (PLP Bitung) have successfully extinguished the fire onboard. The vessel remains afloat at the incident site and is currently under close monitoring by PLP Bitung. The KMP Barcelona V accident occurred less than a month after the sinking of the KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya ferry in the Bali Strait on July 2, which resulted in at least 19 fatalities and left 10 people missing. A preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) found that the likely cause of the Tunu Pratama Jaya's sinking was the crew's failure to close the engine room door before setting out to sea. Investigators had questioned surviving crew and passengers and discovered that seawater first entered the ferry through an open engine room door located on the lower deck. The hatch to the engine room should always remain closed while the ship is sailing. Last week, a speedboat carrying 18 passengers capsized in the waters of Mentawai Islands Regency, West Sumatra, after encountering bad weather. All passengers onboard, which included a local councilor and civil servants, managed to swim to safety. The boat was operating over its maximum capacity at the time of the accident. Additionally, the vessel was not equipped with a radio and lacked a sailing permit from the authorities, despite setting off in poor weather conditions. These incidents have reignited public calls for stricter safety regulations for vessels in the country, which has one of the world's poorest maritime safety records. According to the Allianz Safety and Shipping Review 2025, Indonesia ranks highly among countries with the highest number of ship losses globally.
The Star
3 days ago
- The Star
East Kalimantan man arrested for grooming, extorting Swedish teenager
JAKARTA: The East Kalimantan Police have arrested a 20-year-old man from Balikpapan on suspicion of grooming a 15-year-old girl from Sweden and threatening to share her intimate photos and videos online. Grooming refers to the process by which an offender builds a relationship with a minor, often online, with the intent of gaining their trust to exploit or abuse them, typically sexually or for personal gain. East Kalimantan Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Yuliyanto said the suspect, identified only by his initials AMZ, also extorted the victim by threatening to release the photos and videos unless she sent him money. "He has admitted to his actions during police questioning," he said on Thursday (July 17). According to the Head of the Cybercrime Subdirectorate at the East Kalimantan Police, Comr. Ariansyah, AMZ first came into contact with the victim last year through the popular online gaming platform Roblox. 'They initially communicated through in-game chat. Their conversations later moved to email and Discord, an online messaging platform,' Ariansyah said on Wednesday, as reported by Antaranews. He added that AMZ gradually built an emotional connection with the victim, gaining her trust and making her feel comfortable enough to comply when he asked her to produce inappropriate photos and videos. According to Ariansyah, between July of last year and July this year, the victim sent the suspect 10 intimate photos and 20 intimate videos. 'After receiving the videos, the suspect demanded that the victim send him US$500 or he would publish the content,' Ariansyah said. 'The victim's mother eventually sent him US$50, but no further payments were made.' The victim's mother eventually reported AMZ to local authorities in Sweden, who then alerted the Indonesian Embassy in Stockholm and Interpol. The East Kalimantan Police began their investigation in early June and arrested AMZ on July 15 at his private residence in East Balikpapan. During the arrest, police seized AMZ's laptop, two mobile phones, five email accounts, multiple online gaming accounts and various social media profiles, including Instagram, WhatsApp and TikTok. Authorities also confiscated his PayPal account, which was allegedly used to receive money from the victim. Police initially charged AMZ under Articles 27 and 43 of the 2024 Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law for the distribution of pornographic material and extortion, which carries a maximum sentence of six years in prison and a fine of up to Rp 1 billion. However, authorities later opted for a restorative justice approach, citing the absence of an official report filed by the victim with the Indonesian police. Without a formal complaint, they explained, the case could not be brought to court. 'The victim also resides overseas, which makes the investigation quite difficult,' said East Kalimantan Police's Ariansyah. He added that since AMZ ultimately did not publish the intimate photos, the victim's family agreed not to file a report with international authorities, an action that could have led to AMZ's extradition to Sweden. As part of the restorative justice process, authorities required AMZ to formally apologize to the victim and her family. East Kalimantan Police's Yuliyanto urged parents to strengthen supervision of their children's online activities to help prevent them from becoming targets of cybercrimes. 'The East Kalimantan Police are committed to enhancing public education on cybercrimes, especially those targeting children and teenagers,' he said. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
Asia News Network
02-07-2025
- Asia News Network
Another foreign tourist falls on Indonesia's Mt. Rinjani amid growing safety concerns
July 2, 2025 JAKARTA – A Malaysian tourist was injured after slipping while trekking on Mount Rinjani in Lombok, East Nusa Tenggara, just days after a Brazilian climber died in a similar accident, raising fresh concerns over safety on Indonesia's second-highest volcano. According to East Lombok Police spokesperson First Insp. Nicolas Oesman, 47-year-old Nazli began his ascent of the 3,726-meter mountain on Thursday, joining a group of 12 hikers via the trail in Sajang village, Sembalun district. After reaching the summit of Mt. Rinjani, the group began their descent toward Segara Anak Lake. It was during this leg that Nazli reportedly slipped. 'He slipped while attempting to make way for several porters passing along the narrow trail,' Nicolas said on Saturday, as quoted by Antaranews, referring to locals who help carry supplies for climbers. Following the incident, Nazli was carried down the mountain by fellow hikers, porters and members of the local Rinjani rescue team. He was rushed to the Sembalun Community Health Center (Puskesmas) on Saturday morning for medical treatment. He sustained bruising to his right leg, hip pain and minor scrapes to his head. In a social media post on Saturday, the Mount Rinjani National Park Management Agency (BTNGR) stated that Nazli was in a stable condition and physically fit to resume normal daily activities. Nazli's fall happened just days after a fatal accident involving Brazilian tourist Juliana De Souza Pereira Marins, who died after falling into a ravine near the same area. On June 21, Marins fell into a ravine at Cemara Nunggal, a narrow trail section near the summit, bordered by the Mt. Rinjani crater on one side and steep cliffs on the other. Marins was believed to have survived the fall. Rescuers reported hearing her cries for help, and drone footage taken on Saturday evening showed her sitting upright partway down a 200 m-deep ravine. However, efforts to reach her were severely hindered by poor weather and treacherous terrain. Rescuers were only able to reach her on the night of May 24, by which time she was no longer showing any signs of life. Marins' family has voiced frustration over what they described as sluggish and inadequate evacuation efforts by Indonesian authorities. Their sentiments were widely echoed by Brazilian netizens, many of whom questioned the competence of the rescue teams and criticized what they saw as a lack of proper equipment to carry out the operation. Some went as far as to claim that Marins did not die from the fall itself, but as a result of the delayed rescue efforts. National Search and Rescue Agency head Air Vice Marshal Mohammad Syafi'i expressed his condolences over Marins' passing and denied claims that rescuers responded slowly to the accident. 'The victim's location was extremely difficult to reach. She was trapped in a steep ravine at an altitude of 2,700 m. Rescuers had to use specialized vertical rescue equipment and battled thick fog and heavy rain, which severely limited their visibility, to reach her,' Syafi'i added. Abd Haris Agam, a volunteer involved in Marins' rescue, acknowledged that the operation was delayed due to insufficient equipment. 'The rope the rescue teams brought wasn't long enough to reach the victim, so I had to fetch a 600-meter rope from the West Nusa Tenggara Search and Rescue Agency office and carry it to the mountain summit. It was heavy and took a lot of time,' he explained. Agam urged authorities to improve rescue management on the mountain, including by providing emergency shelters near Mt. Rinjani's summit to store evacuation equipment, allowing rescue operations to be carried out more quickly. Following the controversy surrounding Marins' rescue, the House of Representatives and the West Nusa Tenggara administration have announced plans to review hiking procedures and search-and-rescue protocols on Mt. Rinjani. This review will focus on regulations concerning hiking procedures and permit requirements for both domestic and international visitors. Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana has also called for stricter enforcement of safety procedures on extreme hiking trails, particularly on Mt. Rinjani. 'These incidents remind us that every extreme tourism destination carries serious risks,' Widiyanti said in a press statement on Saturday. She urged all tourism service providers to ensure that their guides and porters are properly certified and trained, to strengthen coordination with local authorities and to step up public awareness campaigns, particularly for foreign tourists, on the importance of following safety protocols. Between 2017 and 2024, nine hikers tragically lost their lives on Mt. Rinjani due to various causes, including exhaustion and accidents. Last month, a 57-year-old Malaysian hiker, Rennie bin Abdul Ghani, died after falling from a cliff on Mt. Rinjani. In October of last year, 16-year-old Kaifat Rafi Mubarok from Jakarta was also found dead after a fatal fall from a cliff on the mountain.
