Kompas.com reports that a tourist boat sank on Friday night, 26 December 2025, in the Pulau Padar Straits near the Komodo National Park (TNK) in the West Manggarai Regency, Flores, East Nusa Tenggara. Four Spanish tourists – a father and his three children, sailing on the traditional motorized Phinisi, KM Putri Sakinah, are now missing and presumed lost at sea.
On Saturday, the day following the incident, Search and Rescue workers began an intensive search for the four Spaniards, who may have been trapped in a single cabin of the vessel at the time of the sinking.
Officials report the ship, carrying 11 people, sank during bad weather. The ship’s manifest listed 6 Spanish tourists, one guide, and four crew members on board.
The head of the West Manggarai Police Precinct (Kapolres), AKBP Christian Kadang, reports that the ship left the Labuan Bajo marina at 1:00 pm, bound for Pulau Kambing, near Pulau Rinca. At 8:30 pm, the ship’s engine broke down, and it began to take on water and sink at a location 23 nautical miles west of Labuan Bajo.
While seven people were rescued from the sinking ship by nearby vessels, the four Spanish nationals are now the subject of an intensive search:
- Fernando Martin
- Martin Garcia Mateo
- Martines Ortuno
- Martinez Ortuno Enriquejavier
The children are aged 9, 10, and 12 years. The daughter rescued with Martin’s wife is seven years old,
Due to the circumstances of the incident, Martin and his three children are presumed missing and dead.
Fernando Martin is the coach of the Women’s Team B of La Liga Valencia, while the three other names of missing passengers are Martin’s minor Children. Meanwhile, Martin’s wife, Andrea Ortuna, and a seven-year-old daughter were the two Spaniards rescued from the sinking ship and sent to a hotel in Labuan Bajo to wait.
Martin and his three minor children are believed to have been trapped in a single cabin and overwhelmed by flooding waters when the ship capsized, leaving them unable to abandon ship.
Search and Rescue workers using snorkeling equipment seeking to reach the submerged vessel and recover the missing passengers have been thwarted by strong currents and limited water visibility.
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