PNG emergency teams survive Bougainville boat disaster, reach Buka safely

A rescue mission in Bougainville turned into a survival struggle after a speedboat capsized near Ausarara Island, leaving emergency responders stranded at sea before they were brought to safety in Buka, Papua New Guinea.

The incident unfolded as a team from Bougainville Disaster and Emergency Services travelled to Siwai to assist two fishermen who had been isolated for five days.

Rescue team airlifted by MAF PNG/Photo supplied

With key roads destroyed by flooding and damage to the Ramazon Ridge, the rescue team relied on two speedboats to reach the remote island via the eastern coastline.

During the journey, one vessel was hit by strong waves and sank close to the fishermen’s location. Four crew members were left in the water and forced to make their way to nearby Tuluve Island.

Search and recovery efforts by the Bougainville Police Service South Regional Command later brought the stranded men safely back to Buin, before they were airlifted to Buka.

Quentin Talingapua, who leads the Directorate of Disaster Emergency Bougainville, described the experience as a fight for 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.”

In a separate operation, an aircraft transported a young patient, Louisiana Mangkkani, along with her grandmother Augusta Baru, from Arawa to Buka for urgent treatment at Buka General Hospital.