PALANGKA RAYA – PROTOCOL AND PUBLIC COMMUNICATION BUREAU. King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima from Kingdom of the Netherlands canceled their visit to Central Kalimantan this week because the province is still grieving following a water accident in Sebangau River on Monday (9/3/2020), which killed seven people, including 1011 / Kuala Kapuas District Military Commander Letkol Kav Bambang Kristianto Bawono.

“We, in Central Kalimantan, are mourning and grieving with the death of state servants, one of those is Kuala Kapuas District Military Commander, and other six people are from the Technical Implementation Unit of Sebangau National Park, so there are seven people lose their life on this accident,” explained Central Kalimantan Governor H. Sugianto Sabran to media, Tuesday (10/ 3/2020), after handing over some aid to the community who have helped finding the victims. This information was also conveyed by the Governor at the handover ceremony to the community around Kereng Bangkirai jetty.

“We are in deep condolences, this morning we conveyed to the Minister of Environment and Forestry who was ordered by Mr. President to accompany the Dutch King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima and coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding our conditions in here. Then, there was news this afternoon at the preparatory meeting (the arrival of the King and Queen of the Netherlands) that it was finally canceled because we are still grieving upon this accident,” explained Governor Sugianto Sabran.

Governor also informed that the Dutch Embassy had also expressed its condolences over the death of several people in a water accident in Sebangau. The Governor has communicated with the Dutch Embassy and hopes that the arrival of the King and Queen of the Netherlands to Central Kalimantan is rescheduled.

Beforehand, at the Kereng Bangkirai jetty, when delivering aid to the community who have helped finding the victims of water accident in Sebangau, Governor Sugianto Sabran again expressed his deep condolences over the deaths of seven accident victims in Sebangau National Park area. “I have promised to give recognition to anyone who helped find the bodies. This is to motivate the search to be faster,” he added while explaining that the last body was found before 21:00 Western Indonesian Time (WIB), precisely at around 20:35 WIB.

“I thank you all who have participated, those officers coming from city government, there are also from the district governments, provincial government, and all community in here. This accident is a lesson learned for us,” said Governor Sugianto Sabran.

The governor added that he had also communicated with the Minister of the Environment and Forestry regarding the granting of funds so Sebangau National Park could become a tourist icon of Central Kalimantan. “But I hope, community living in here must put so much concern on clean environment, do not litter, improve the cleanness of the boats, be friendly, and repair the painting all around. We will assist. We, together with the City Government of Palangka Raya, are working with Sebangau National Park Office to keep providing the river water even during the dry season, this is for the sake of the people around here so they can continue to live,” he said.

Attending the Governor’s visit to Kereng Bangkirai jetty were a member of Indonesian House of Representatives of Central Kalimantan Electoral District Iwan Kurniawan, a member of Central Kalimantan House of Representatives Mariani Sabran, a number of Provincial Government Organizations Heads, members of Central Kalimantan Leadership Coordination Forum, and officers of the Technical Implementation Unit of Sebangau National Park. (ran/end/ing/sop/ translated by feb)