MAF flew to Buin to receive survivors of a boating accident, along with brave members of the Bougainville Disaster and Emergency Services rescue team.
The eight men of the rescue team had been sent by sea to extract two fishermen who had been stranded for five days on Ausarara Island in Siwai. With roads cut off and the Ramazon ridge damaged by flooding, the team navigated through the eastern side of Bougainville using two speed boats.
Tragically, one of the speed boats encountered heavy waves and sank just next to the island, where the two fishermen were stranded. The four crew members were left stranded at sea before reaching Tuluve Island. They were later safely recovered by the Bougainville Police Service South Regional Command and brought to Buin.
One of the survivors, Queentin Talingapua, Coordinator of the Directorate of Disaster Emergency Bougainville, gave a brief on their survival.
“We had to swim against the tide towards the island from 5:30 – 6:00 pm in the evening and as soon as we got to the island it was night,” he said. “We slept under a huge tree until morning. Early the next day we put the life jackets on trees and put up flags from the life jackets facing where boats would come.
“We were just waiting now for rescue to arrive, one of our trusts was in MAF.”
Praise God for their safe recovery and for the quick response of the Bougainville Police!
On a second flight, MAF also carried out a medical evacuation of an eight-year-old girl, Louisiana Mangkkani, accompanied by her grandmother Augusta Baru. They were flown from Arawa to Buka and driven immediately to Buka General Hospital.
STORY & PHOTO / AQUILA MATIT