Drama in Indonesia. A Valencian family who was on a pleasure trip to this Asian country and went to meet the famous dragons of Komodo Island, was struck by tragedy after the tourist boat they were sailing on sank and the father, 44, and three of his children, aged 12, 10 and 9, disappeared.
The event occurred near Padar Island, east of Bali, at 8:30 p.m. on Friday (Friday 2:30 p.m. Spanish Peninsula time). According to the Indonesian authorities, there was a unpredictable weather anomaly this caused high waves or a short swell. This condition caused the ship to capsize, break in two and sink.
The father, Fernando Martinwho is the coach of Valencia Femenino B, was in the cabins with the children, while the mother, Andrea Ortuño, and a 7-year-old girl was on top of the boat, named KM Putri Sakinah, about 20 meters long and made of wood.
According to the story of Enrique Ortuño, father-in-law and grandfather of the deceased, Andrea and the young girl they left goodbyeand was quickly rescued in good condition.
Instead, Fernando and the children were stuck at the bottom of the ship and sank, which is why Enrique Ortuño himself states that “There are very few options” to find them and admits that if the bodies are not found in three days, they will be considered dead.
“The bodies must be at the bottom of the sea, of the other part. It is difficult to recover the bodies if there is no miracle,” says Ortuño, hotel businessman and owner of the famous El Coso del Mar restaurant.
“We still cannot say deceased, because the bodies have not been found, but they have disappeared. My daughter and my granddaughter are safe and I can talk to them because the institutions have turned to me,” explains Enrique, very excited, who awaits with “faith” the resolution of this tragedy, but aware that “the chances are slim.”
According to the newspaper The provincesthe Martin Ortuño are a “very adventurous” family and sports enthusiasts and this trip to Indonesia was their first big trip together. In Valencia, with the grandparents, two other very young children remained. “They were on a pleasure trip,” says the grandfather, who assures that the authorities, both Spanish and Indonesian, took measures.
“The army, the national police, the civil guard… They make my job easier, they have contacts everywhere, in Jakarta, Komodo, Bali, they are exemplary,” Ortuño told the EFE agency. Also the Valencian generality and the Archbishop of Valencia contacted him.
Another son of the hotel businessman has already left for Indonesia to keep his sister company and support her during the process of searching for Fernando and the children.
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