5th October 2022 – An American tourist went missing after a rafting accident in Ubud. Robinaugh Clifford Neil, 64, an American foreigner, went rafting on the Ayung River, Banjar Tanggauda, Kedewatan village with nine other foreigners yesterday afternoon.
The tourists were divided into two groups. Initially, the rafting went smoothly according to plan, as they started the activity at 13.30 WITA. At approximately 15.00 WITA, a witness said that Neil was drifting on a raft for his second session when a sudden strong current and high water discharge overturned one of his rafts and other 9 tourists.
A member of the unfortunate raft tried to grab hold of the second raft to avoid tipping over, but both rafts fell over. The rafting guides quickly evacuated both rafts, but unfortunately lost sight of Neil. Other rafters, tourists from Australia, India, and Germany, are reportedly alive and well with only minor injuries. Luckily, the two local lifeguards on the boat were able to survive the incident. Ubud Police Chief I Gusti Ngurah Yudistira said that the search for Americans continues. “Before rafting with the group, local guides followed safety procedures, including briefings on safety and emergencies and equipping them with lifejackets and helmets,” Yudhistira added.
A search for the missing American began yesterday but was called off around 20.00 WITA for safety reasons. Then, around 07.00 WITA, the SAR team resumed the search for Neil.
The Search on the Second Day
Search by the SAR team continues. There is 15 Bali SAR team personnels who were deployed in the search for the missing American tourist in Ubud. The search was assisted by the police and BPBD (Regional Disaster Management Agency) Gianyar. On the second day of searching, the SAR team was divided into three teams. The teams are using inflatable boats, team 1 carried out a search from May Swing Rafting to Bongkasa. Furthermore, team 2 from Bongkasa headed towards Semana. Meanwhile, team 3 carried out a search and sweep in the direction of the Semana Bridge to the Mambal Dam. During the search, officers found a life vest that allegedly belonged to the victim. Unfortunately, the victim has yet to be found.
