Crewmember Dies Trying to Reach Shore After Tug Grounding Off Sulawesi

 

One crewmember lost his life after a tug went aground at a remote beach in Southeast Sulawesi, according to rescue agency Basarnas. 

On Friday night, the tug Iska 1165 was swept aground in foul weather and high waves just off the coast of Tanjung Goram, on the north end of the island of Buton. The vessel was swamped by heavy wave action, and the crew took action to get help. 

At about 2230 hours, three crewmembers jumped over the side and attempted to swim ashore. One made it safely to dry land, another turned back to the tug because of the rough conditions and climbed aboard, and the third died in the attempt. His body was recovered in the early hours of the next morning. 

The nearest SAR station was about 33 nautical miles away, and authorities received first word of the grounding at about 0200 hours Saturday morning. A team with a RIB got under way and arrived on scene at about 0540 hours.  

Initial attempts to reach the six remaining crewmembers on the tug were not successful because of severe surface conditions, which prevented the RIB crew from approaching. The waves abated at about 0830, and all six crewmembers were safely evacuated. All were taken to a nearby health center for evaluation. The remains of the deceased crewmember - identified as Antonius Parantuan, 44 - were delivered to a hospital morgue.