A 39-year-old Australian woman has died after the boat she was travelling on capsized as it was travelling between Bali and the nearby island of Nusa Penida. Two other passengers were severely injured during the incident.
The woman has been identified as Anna Maree Blight, from Melbourne, who had reportedly celebrated her 39th birthday shortly before the trip.
Fellow Australians Gabriel Hijniakoff, 29, and Cintamani ‘Tam’ Warrington, 32, from Brisbane, received serious burns during the incident, and have required hospital treatment and surgery for their injuries.
According to local reports, the boat named Sea Dragon 2 was carrying a total of 13 people – 11 tourists and two Indonesian crew – from Sanur in Bali on 21 March when it was overturned by large waves at approximately 8.30 am.
The tourists were reportedly on their way to Manta Point, a popular spot on the south coast of Nusa Penida for snorkelling and diving with the island’s resident population of reef manta rays.
Footage recorded by a Dutch passenger shows the moment the boat is struck by the wave moments after a female voice in the background is heard describing how she is feeling nervous in the rough seas.
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A spokesman for the Klungkung local police, Agus Widiono, told local media that ‘a freak wave’ had struck the boat before a second wave caused it to capsize close to Kelingking Beach on Nusa Penida’s southern coast.
The passengers and crew were left stranded for several hours until they were picked up by the tour operator’s second boat Sea Dragon 1. A passing ferry also provided aid after being alerted to the emergency.
A GoFundMe page set up by Mr Hijniakoff’s sister-in-law to assist the couple’s return to Australia says that Warrington has received ‘extensive burns to a large portion of her body,’ and was – at the time the GoFindMe post was set up – in a critical condition and ‘unable to speak due to the pain.’
The page has since received more than AUD$22,000 in donations and a 23 March update says that Hijnkiakoff and Warrington are in a stable condition with pain management, and are waiting for emergency passports to be processed so they can return home.
A spokesperson from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the department was providing assistance to the family of an Australian who died in Indonesia.
‘We send our deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time,’ the spokesperson said, adding, ‘the Department is also providing consular assistance to two Australians who were injured in the same incident.’
Nusa Penida’s southern coast is notoriously prone to high swells, often making the journey to its popular manta ray scuba diving and snorkelling sites uncomfortable and, occasionally, impossible.
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