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Last week, an Indonesian boat capsized while transporting Australian surf tourists from Nias to the Banyak Islands. After several days lost at sea, all four Australians and two of the three Indonesians have been found. However, the search continued for the final Indonesian crew member who remained at sea. According to The Guardian, Indonesian officials have officially ended their search.
It has been a week since Australian tourists Elliot Foote, Steph Weisse, Will Teagle and Jordan Short, as well as Indonesian crew Yunardi Ardi and Kibal (whose last name has not been reported) were found bobbing in the ocean, using surfboards as flotation devices. In the time since then, Basarnas, Indonesia’s national search and rescue authority, has continued a dedicated search for Fifan Satria, the final member of the Indonesian crew. However, that search has now officially ended.
“The search from the first until the seventh day has been effectively conducted, not only at sea but also along the shorelines around the Banyak Islands, but the result was still zero,” said Basarnas Chief Octavianto. As The Guardian reports, Octavianto added that authorities would help to evacuate Satria if they received new information.
“My deepest thoughts are with the family of Fifan. Our joyful young guide who hasn’t been found,” wrote Elliot Foote in an Instagram post. “I wish there was more we could have done to help you, and that will stay with me as a burden to bear. I understand the loneliness you must’ve felt in those hours by yourself, and my condolences to your family.”
Amy Teagle, the sister of of rescued Australian Will Teagle, has launched an online fundraiser that aims to raise $100,000 Australian dollars to support Satria’s family.
