All four Australians that were reported to be missing in Indonesia have been found alive.
A family member confirmed that Elliot Foote, Steph Weisse, Will Teagle and Jordan Short were found alive after their wooden speedboat struck rough weather whilst en route to the remote Banyak Islands on Sunday night.
Weisse was reportedly found floating on her surfboard in the water, as per 7News. Shortly after, Teagle and Short were said to be found. Peter Foote, Elliot’s father, confirmed that his son was found minutes later.
“It sounds like all four have been found and that’s great. I’m yet to confirm it because I want to hear what shape [Elliot] is in but it’s really hopeful now. Thanks Australia, and the media for helping us get the message out there,” Peter Foote said.
“A lot of people were looking today. But they’ve been in the water a long time, I don’t know how they’re going to be health-wise. But they’re found, they’re alive, they’re well. It’s all good, it’s fantastic news. It’s unbelievable actually, I’m so stoked about that.”
In addition to the four Aussie tourists, there were also three Indonesian crew members on board. The boat is yet to be located and it is unclear whether the local crew members have been found.
ICYMI, the Australian tourists had been travelling in Sumatra and on the island of Nias with eight others to celebrate Foote’s 30th birthday.
The large group of mates, who were all keen surfers, were on two separate boats from Nias, which is 130 kilometres west of Sumatra, travelling to the small island of Pinang in the Banyaks when they hit a storm.
One of the boats reached the destination after taking shelter from the rough weather, but the other boat has not been seen since.
Via the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the families of the four missing Australians released a statement that read: “Our hearts are aching at the thought that Elliot, Steph, Will and Jordan are missing at sea.
“We continue to pray and hold out hope they will be found.
“We’d like to thank the Indonesian authorities and the Australian government for their ongoing assistance while search and rescue efforts continue.”
Elliot Foote’s father Peter Foote spoke to The Today Show on Tuesday and said his “heart is aching”.
“You feel it physically, in the stomach, everywhere,” he told Today, per 9News.
However, he remained optimistic that the group would be located.
“Apparently they have food and water on the boat and the boat has a roof so it should be all right,” Peter told Today.
He previously said to The Sydney Morning Herald: “Apparently the waves weren’t that problematic. It was just the visibility in the storm. We’re all hoping they’ve either run out of fuel or they got lost and missed the island or more likely there may be an engine failure on the boat, which unfortunately doesn’t have any GPS.”
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade chartered a private plane to join the search on Monday night. On Today, Peter Foote thanked those involved in the search but urged the Australian and Indonesian governments to “get some planes up”.
“It is going to be a long, long day for them. I don’t know how long their supplies are going to last,” he said.
“Every minute counts.”
The group are all friends of Foote, and according to his dad they intended to stay on the tiny island of Pinang for 10 days, renting out bungalows as their accommodation.
“Elliot is turning 30 in September and for his 30th birthday I sent him and his mates there on surfing trip,” he told the SMH.
“There are a few Scots boys there, mates just from the beach in Bronte, and he’s recently moved to Mullumbimby, so there are some mates from there as well.”
The eight friends, whose boat did reach Pinang safely, were “all beside themselves at the island,” Foote’s dad said.
Foote had posted on Instagram just one day before their boat disappeared writing that it was: “So good being back in Indo after so many years. Sharing waves with mates and the queen.”
The National Search and Rescue Agency in Indonesia, Basarnas, said that the small boat had gone missing at around 6pm on Sunday near an island in the Banyaks called Sarang Alu.
“Our team has arrived at Sarang Alu Island today to search the area. It is the last spot before both boats separated,” said the Basarnas chief in Nias, Octavianto.
“The waves are three to four metres high. It is raining heavily and it’s dark. We can only use smaller boats with good aerodynamics due to the weather. We are searching within 40 nautical miles of Sarang Alu Island.”
Staff at the tiny resort at Sarang Alu, as well as rescue personnel in the Banyak Islands began the search at 2am on Monday but didn’t find anything.
The Basarnas rescue team had than 20 people searching for the tourists, including police, the military and volunteers.
Octavianto confirmed that the boat didn’t have any navigation devices and that the three Indonesians on board were two mechanics and the boat owner.
“The weather was bad yesterday afternoon until today … very windy, and raining. Actually, in the past month the weather in Nias has been not so good,” Octavianto said.
“They used simple boats, wooden boats … they really went there on their own.”
The Nias search and rescue office was notified of the missing boat on Monday morning.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed the search and rescue operation was underway in Indonesia, and that it was also providing consular services to the families of the four missing Australians.
Now, hopefully, the families can breathe a sigh of relief knowing their loved ones are found. We send our hopes and prayers that the local Indosian boat workers are found too.
Image credit: 9News
