BALI – After a five-day search operation, three crew members of the BALIMAN speedboat who were reported missing after the vessel suffered engine failure near Manta Point, Nusa Penida, Bali, have been found safe at Puger Beach, East Java.
The three men were identified as I Nyoman Budiana, the speedboat captain, and crew members Keristino Sahreza Avendi Da and Niko Demios Landena.
The BALIMAN speedboat reportedly experienced engine failure on Saturday, September 12, 2026, while operating in the waters around Manta Point, Nusa Penida. The incident prompted a joint search and rescue operation involving multiple SAR elements.
On Wednesday, September 16, 2026, the search entered its fifth day. The Joint SAR Team deployed RIB 02 Denpasar, which departed from Benoa Port at around 8:00 a.m. local time and headed toward the designated search area.
Family representatives also joined the search effort alongside the Joint SAR Team.
The search area had been determined based on calculations involving wind direction, wind speed and ocean currents to estimate the possible movement of the missing crew members. However, the search produced no results until the afternoon.
The operation also received support from more than a dozen fishing boats. Local fishermen helped search several areas of the surrounding waters, while coordination with VTS Benoa continued to obtain information about vessels passing through areas near the search zone.
Weather and sea conditions became one of the challenges faced by rescuers during the operation. According to reports from the SAR team in the field, wave heights in the search area ranged between 2 and 4 meters. Despite the difficult conditions, the search operation continued to be coordinated until authorities received a breakthrough late Wednesday evening.
At 9:06 p.m. WITA on September 16, the Denpasar Search and Rescue Office received information from one of the victims' colleagues that the BALIMAN speedboat and all three crew members had been evacuated by local fishermen to Puger Beach, East Java.
"The Denpasar Search and Rescue Office received information from the victims' colleagues that the speedboat and the three victims had been successfully evacuated by local fishermen to Puger Beach, East Java," said I Nyoman Sidakarya, Head of the Denpasar Search and Rescue Office.
Following the report, at 9:11 p.m. WITA, Sidakarya coordinated with the Head of the Banyuwangi Search and Rescue Office.
Four rescue personnel from the Banyuwangi Search and Rescue Office then departed for Puger Beach at 9:15 p.m. WITAto verify the information and check the condition of the three crew members.
The Banyuwangi Rescue Team subsequently met the three crew members at Puger Beach.
"After meeting the three victims, the Banyuwangi Rescue Team confirmed that I Nyoman Budiana, Keristino Sahreza Avendi Da, and Niko Demios Landena were safe and in good health," Sidakarya said.
Meanwhile, the BALIMAN speedboat was reported to be located near Rumpon Bleduk, approximately 42 nautical miles from the coastline. The three crew members are scheduled to return home on September 17, 2026, with their families expected to pick them up.
The discovery of the three crew members brought an end to the search operation that had been conducted for several days across the waters around Bali and East Java.
