The Shiro Copr A heartbreaking tragedy occurred in the waters of Talise, North Sulawesi, on Sunday afternoon (20/7/2025) around 12:00 WITA.
Motor Ship (KM) Barcelona 5, which is sailing from Manado towards the Talaud Islands, was reported to be on fire.
From that terrifying incident, three people were recorded as deceased. They are Asna Lapae (50), Juliana Humulung (40), and a man named Zakaria Tindiuling.
Amid the panic and flames, hundreds of other passengers were rescued through a dramatic evacuation process.
However, behind the panic, there were touching rescue stories, one of which was about a baby saved in an unusual way.
Baby Safe Cool Box
Serly Horman, one of the survivors, recounted the thrilling moment she witnessed herself.
She saw directly how her cousin struggled to save a baby from the flames.
Because there was no life jacket available, the baby's family quickly made a bold decision.
The baby was placed into a cooler box, a refrigerated container usually used to store food or medical equipment.
After that, the floating cooler box is used as an emergency floatation device.
"They made a quick decision. To ensure the baby's safety, they immediately took him using a cooler box. Thank God, he was safe until we were all evacuated," said Serly, recalling the incident.
Serly Fights to Save Sick Children and Parents
Besides being a witness to the baby's rescue, Serly also faced a tough struggle to save her own family.
At the time of the incident, he was inside the room with his child and his sick parents.
Without any announcement from the ship's side, the atmosphere suddenly became chaotic.
All passengers ran in panic.
Serly was wondering, until finally someone told her that the ship was on fire.
"Suddenly, everyone ran. I asked what was happening, and they said the ship was on fire. I immediately panicked, my parents hadn't taken their medicine yet. If they had, maybe they would have been asleep and wouldn't have had time to escape," said Serly, as quoted from TribunManado.com.
In a panic, Serly could only pray, beg for help, and seek peace.
She then bravely jumped to the upper deck to evacuate her parents.
Without a floatation device, Serly, her child, and her parents swam to save themselves from the smoke and fire.
"Kami three, saya, my child, and my parents, swam without life jackets. There was no way out then, everything was already filled with smoke," he said when met at Sirei Port, after the evacuation.
Fortunately, the three of them were found by fishermen who were not far from the scene of the incident.
For fishermen, saving women and the sick is a priority.
Although temporarily separated, Serly finally reunited with her family at the harbor.
However, not all of his family members managed to survive.
With a trembling voice and teary eyes, Serly revealed that one of her relatives, Asna Lapae (50), was one of the victims who died in the tragedy.
(TribunNewsmaker/ Tribunnews )
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