Kendari, SE Sulawesi (ANTARA) - The Wakatobi Search and Rescue Agency in Southeast Sulawesi ended its search operation for six people aboard a small vessel in the waters off Wangi-Wangi after a rescue team found them alive on Sunday.
Five of the survivors were rescued from a deserted island near the motorboat firstly reported to have been hit by storm amid bad weather with high waves. The sixth person was found alive inside the drifting vessel.
The agency's head, Amiruddin, said the boat left the pier of Kaledupa Island for Wanci in Wangi-Wangi Subdistrict at about 06.00 p.m. local time. It encountered severe weather conditions at around 09.00 p.m.
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The agency received a distress call from one of the passengers at approximately 02.13 a.m. on Sunday, reporting the emergency and requesting evacuation.
Amiruddin said that shortly after receiving the rescue request, he deployed a team of rescuers at about 02.30 a.m. to the reported last known position (LKP), which was around 16.9 miles away from their pier of departure.
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The rescuers found five survivors on a deserted island near the LKP at around 3:36 a.m., while the sixth was discovered aboard the drifting vessel approximately 2.55 miles from the LKP. All six were safely evacuated to Patinggu Port in Wakatobi District at 6:10 a.m., Amiruddin said.
