REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Minister of Social Idrus Marham said there were five messages from President Joko Widodo that must be delivered to the families of the victims of Sinar Bangun Motor Boat that sank in Lake Toba. The boat capsized last week and the joint SAR team still trying to search the victims.
"There are five important points in the president's message that need to be delivered to the local people of Simalungun. I have told them about the message while visiting North Sumatra Province last week," he stated here on Monday.
Marham noted that the first message is about the maximum efforts taken by the government to spot the sinking ship. According to him, the government had earlier used tools that could reach only 400 meters deep, but now it has deployed tools that can reach a depth of 2 thousand meters.
"I went there and witnessed how the equipment worked. There are indications that the ship was found, but it has not yet been confirmed whether it was the ship that sank," he conveyed.
Second, the government is not only focused on the search for victims but also on the condition of the victims' families. "Ministry of Social Affairs, along with other work units, has set up a public kitchen to ensure that the families have enough food. The Ministry of Social Affairs has also provided one unit of public kitchen as assistance," he remarked.
Third, the head of state asked the Ministry of Social Affairs to help ease the burden on the families of the victims. The government would provide assistance for both survivors and the victims.
Fourth, as one of the tourist destinations that attract domestic and foreign tourists, the management of Lake Toba must be improved.
The last message is that the permission of ship entrepreneurs who are not orderly, undisciplined, and do not follow the rules must be revoked.
Earlier, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi appreciated all parties that has found objects that possibly is the wreckage of MV Sinar Bangun which sank in Lake Toba on Monday (June 18). He expected the joint team can immediately find the exact location of the ship.
“We appreciate National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), Indonesian Military (TNI), National Police, and all people who have worked together to find the object. We must clarify further about this finding,” said Budi in a written statement on Monday (June 25).
MV Sinar Bangun capsized in Lake Toba, North Sumatra, at around 5 p.m. local time on last Monday. The latest development revealed that the boat carried 206 people while its capacity was only 43 passengers.
Only 22 passengers have been found, with 19 of them having survived, including the captain of MV Sinar Bangun.
The captain of MV Sinar Bangun has been secured by the police and named as suspect. He ignored weather warning issued twice by the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).
Lake Toba is the world's deepest volcanic lake having a depth of 900 meters, spanning a surface area of 1,145 square kilometers. It is a popular tourist destination in North Sumatra.
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