The Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) dispatched the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) to investigate the cause of the fire and explosion of the speedboat that killed North Maluku governor candidate (Cagub), Benny Laos, on Saturday (12/10/24) at around 14.05 WIT. This was confirmed by the Minister of Transportation of the Republic of Indonesia, Budi Karya Sumadi, to journalists in Klaten, Central Java, Sunday (13/10/24).
Budi Karya himself said “We have coordinated the accident in North Maluku with Basarnas, number 1 is how to carry out the rescue,” “Regarding the cause of the accident, we will deploy the KNKT (National Transportation Safety Committee) in collaboration with the police to find out the causes of the accident ,” he continued. Budi Karya said that this incident could be a lesson for ship movements in North Maluku.
“North Maluku still has a lot of activity with similar vessels with high speeds, but safety must still be considered,” said Budi Karya. Because of this, added Budi Karya, there must be a restructuring, including in terms of licensing and how safety aspects must still be prioritized.
As is known, the speedboat on which Benny Laos and his entourage were traveling exploded at Bobong regional port, Taliabu Island, on Saturday (12/10/24). As a result of this incident, six people died, including North Maluku gubernatorial candidate number 4, Benny Laos. Also on board the ship were Mudin A Wahid (Chairman of the North Maluku United Development Party Regional Leadership Council), and Ester Tantri (North Maluku Council Member from the Democratic Party Fraction). These two people also died.
