Father and Son who Drowned in a Mining Boat Crossing Found Dead

"The victim was found by a joint search and rescue team on the third day of search efforts. It didn't take long after the team started searching by combing the area around the incident location," he said on Saturday (20/4/2024).

Also read: Mining Boat Accident in Sidoarjo, Father and Son Disappeared in River

Hariyadi said that the search for the two victims on the third day was carried out by deploying five SRUs (search and rescue units). The search began by combing the area around the incident location. Next, the five SRUs carried out boat maneuvers in turns at several suspected locations.

"By conducting this boat maneuver, it will create large waves, which will then lift objects inside or at the bottom of the river, including the two suspected victims," said Hariyadi.

Both of them were riding automatic motorcycles when crossing the river using a ferry. Upon boarding the ferry, the victim did not turn off his motorcycle engine. It was at that moment that Erlangga accelerated his motorcycle, causing it to fall into the river.

He added that the process of searching for the drowning victims involves many elements of search and rescue, such as the Surabaya SAR Office, East Java Regional Police's Directorate of Water and Airborne Police, Gresik Police Water and Airborne Unit, East Java Provincial Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Gresik BPBD, Sidoarjo BPBD, Sidoarjo Firefighters. In addition, there are Disaster Alert Cadets (Tagana) and various other community elements.

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Meanwhile, Head of Taman Sector Police Taman Commissioner Anggono said that the river transportation accident occurred on Thursday (18/4/2024) at around 19.00 WIB. At that time, the victim Nanda and her child were on their way home after staying in touch in Sidoarjo.

Both of them were riding automatic motorcycles when crossing the river using a ferry. Upon reaching the ferry, the victim did not turn off the engine of his motorcycle. It was then that Erlangga pulled the motorcycle's gas until it fell into the river.

“Seeing his son fall and drown, his father immediately threw himself into the river. "However, the two victims both drowned," said Anggono.

Reflecting on the accident, Anggono urges the public to increase caution when driving and crossing rivers. He also reminds users of river crossings to comply with applicable safety regulations or standards.

One of them is the regulation that requires motorcycle riders to dismount from their vehicles when aboard a ferry. In addition, it is important to turn off the vehicle's engine to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.

Also read: Mining Boat Sinks in Surabaya River