Man Overboard from Ferry KM Bukit Siguntang Found Dead After Three Days

Early on August 13, 2026, a passenger fell overboard from KM Bukit Siguntang in Balikpapan waters. He was briefly seen floating on the surface. Then he was gone.

The ship had left Balikpapan heading to Parepare when the incident happened around 05:23 WITA, near Buoy 9. Staff at Balikpapan Harbor radioed the Search and Rescue office minutes after.

The passenger was identified as Orip Arudin Tunmuni, 33.

Conditions were difficult from the start. One-to-1.5-meter waves hampered the search teams on day one. The Balikpapan SAR office coordinated a joint operation with the Maritime Police and the Naval Base Balikpapan, and the search zone widened day by day.

By the third day teams were sweeping 247 nautical miles of water. On the morning of August 15, the combined team found Tunmuni deceased near Buoy 11. The search ended.

KM Bukit Siguntang operates inter-island passenger routes out of Balikpapan.