A foreigner from the United States, with the initials RCN, 64, has been reported missing and presumed drowned in an accident that befell two rafting boats.
Each boat contained five foreigners and one tour guide and overturned in the Ayung River at Ubud District, Gianyar Regency, Bali. Nine other foreigners along with the two tour guides managed to save themselves on Monday 3rd October 2022.
“Nine foreigners and two rafting guides who survived only suffered abrasions,” said the Head of the Ubud Police, Police Chief Commissioner I Gusti Ngurah Yudistira, in a written statement on Tuesday 4th October.
The foreign tourists who managed to survive were Australians with the initials JP, 45; AS, 47; CDS, 17; and AMS, 21. Other survivors were Indian nationals with the initials LVC, 26, and JV, 27; as well as Germans with the initials SB, 24, and FCB, 24. The local rafting guides, IWW, 29, and IWA, 47, were also amongst the survivors.
The rafting starting point was located at My Swing, Banjar Tanggayuda Bongkasa, Badung. Before starting at around 12:30pm local Bali time, the group was given directions by the guides regarding safety and were also asked to wear safety gear including life jackets and helmets.
Initially, the activity went smoothly and the flow of the Ayung River was calm, as usual. The tourists also had time to rest in a rest area before continuing.
As they continued their journey at around 2:15pm, suddenly the water volume increased and the current became very strong. As a result, the two rafting boats overturned and the tourists fell into the river.
“When the first boat capsized, the rafting participants held on to the boat in front of them, but the boat also capsized, causing 12 people to fall into the Ayung River,” said Yudistira.
He said the two tour guides then tried to save the foreign tourists from being swept away by the current. The survivors were then immediately evacuated to the riverbank.
Yudistira continued that the search operation for the victims on the first day had not yielded any results, because the weather was not favourable and the terrain was difficult.
On the second day of the search efforts, the joint officers were divided into two: a search starting from My Swing and another starting from the accident’s location at Royal Pitamaha Banjar Tanggayuda, Kedewatan Ubud Village.