(9/24/2011)
Hope is fading for finding any more survivors from the sinking of a traditional sampan that went down on Tuesday, September 20, 2011, carrying a group of 36 traditional musicians between Lembongan and Nusa Penida Islands.
The orchestra members had just finished performing at a funeral ceremony when they left Nusa Lembongan late Tuesday night for the short cruise home to Nusa Penida.
After the sinking, 11 passengers on the boats were plucked live from the ocean. Of the remaining 25 people aboard the boat, 11 drowned whose bodies were recovered from the seas while search efforts continue for 14 musicians still missing at sea.
In the days following the mishap a helicopter, up to 7 large search vessels and teams of trained divers were dispatched to look for remaining missing musicians. Heavy seas and strong current have complicated search efforts.
Meanwhile, local marine police are concluding the accident was due in part to severe overloading of the boat and a lack of life-saving equipment carried on the boat.
Frustrated at the inability to find the bodies of the still-missing passengers on the ill-fated boat, search patterns have been expanded to include waters surrounding Nusa Pendia and Benoa.
Search efforts for missing boating accident victims traditionally end seven days after an initial disappearance. According to Beritabali.com, search and rescue officer are turning to supernatural elements in now frantic efforts to recover the remains of the missing musicians.
The supernatural or “niskala” supplemental efforts include religious rituals performed at the location of the accident and consulting paranormals.
Search and rescues workers are further perplexed by the fact that the missing bodies have not emerged on the sea’s surface, an occurrence that officials claim typically occurs three days after drowning.
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