REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SIMALUNGUN -- Scan sonar has detected objects in two locations at a depth of 490 meters in Lake Toba in North Sumatra on Sunday evening. chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) M Syaugi confirmed the findings.
"We still have to analyze the objects further but we have marked the locations," he said at Tiga Ras port in Simalungun district, North Sumatra, on Sunday.
The objects are detected 2 kilometers and 2.5 kilometers southwest of the port respectively, he said. Basarnas will ascertain the objects in the two locations before taking further steps, he said.
The agency will make sure whether one of the objects is the wreckage of MV Sinar Bangun which sank in Lake Toba on Monday (June 18). He further praised the local people for their initiative to help search for victims.
According to the standard operating procedure, after the search has lasted for seven days it could be extended for another three days. If after period of time has passed and no indicator was found it can be extended again.
At least 184 persons are still missing after the Sinar Bangun MV sank on June 18. The SAR agency also operated Dauphin A 365 helicopter to assist the search and help the evacuation.
Several personnel also searched the victims in the coastal area. The SAR team also used 17 inflatable boats and speed boats to search for the victims within a radius of 40 kilometers.
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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