Surfers respond to a plane crash in Bali. All victims survived. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Indonesian Police
When a Bali airliner crashed into the ocean overshooting Denpasar’s Ngurah Rai International Airport last week, famous Indonesian SUPer Ben Panangian and three of his friends came to the rescue.
According to reports, Panangian and his friends had been surfing nearby when they heard what they initially thought to be thunder. The group then saw the Lion Air Boeing 737 crash into the ocean just past the airport runway.
“There was thick cloud around and the wind was quite strong. Then I looked up and the plane had not landed,” Panangian told reporters. “The next thing there is a big splash and then this wave. Usually there are no waves out here but the crash caused a big wave.”
Immediately, the crew paddled over to start evacuating the passengers without a thought for their own safety. It is reported that two men in a rubber dingy as well as several local fisherman joined the crew.
The four surfers feared that the plane may catch fire or blow up so they began to evacuate the passengers who were most injured or could not swim to shore.
“There was one man who could not walk, I think he had a stroke and there was one woman whose face was bleeding,” Mr. Panangian said.
The four surfers along with the local fisherman continued to ferry people to shore until Indonesian officials arrived to take over the rescue effort. Once officials were on scene and in control they prevented the locals from continuing to help.
Luckily all the passengers aboard the ill-fated flight survived. Whether they would have made it without Panangian and company will never be known, but it sure is gratifying to know that when shit hits the fan SUPers and surfers have each other’s backs.
