Landslide victims yet to be found, official refuses financial aid<\/p>\n
Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor<\/p>\n
Rescue workers were unable on Monday to recover the bodies of
\nfive sand miners who went missing in a landslide in Bogor, West
\nJava, as fears of more landslides halted Monday's rescue
\noperations.<\/p>\n
The five went missing after a landslide struck a sand quarry
\nat the foot of a rocky hill in Kampung Lengkong, Pasir Buncir
\nsubdistrict, Caringin, Bogor, on Saturday at 1 p.m.<\/p>\n
The five are Idis Jarkasih, 45, his two sons Uen, 22, and
\nObay, 17, Ujang Zakanuri Karta, 35, and Eyet Ape, 50. They lived
\nin nearby Kampung Cipeucang.<\/p>\n
Another six people survived the disaster. They are from
\nKampung Srogol and Kampung Cipeucang and are identified as Imam,
\nGandi, Komar, Jalal, Atang Eman and Pepen. They suffered
\nfractures and are now being treated at a traditional clinic in
\nCimande subdistrict, Bogor.<\/p>\n
They were part of a group of sand miners who were digging for
\nsand in the area, which has been officially closed for sand
\nmining.<\/p>\n
Another two landslides occurred at about 10:15 a.m. on Monday
\nand forced the rescue team to halt operations.<\/p>\n
A police bomb squad team tried, but failed, to detonate part
\nof the rocky hill at 12:24 a.m. to prevent the recurrence of
\nlandslides, which could have obstructed the search. Although the
\nimpact of the explosion could be felt as far afield as one
\nkilometer from the location, it produced only a minor tremor on
\nthe rocky hill.<\/p>\n
A joint police and military search team initially tried to use
\nan excavator at the site in the search for the bodies, but
\nrecurring landslides forced them to abort this approach.<\/p>\n
A team of researchers from the Bandung-based Mitigation and
\nGeological Disaster Subdirectorate has been considering other
\nrescue plans that might not endanger the rescue workers.<\/p>\n
The team recommended the use of explosives to level the hill,
\nbut Caringin district head Yasin Zaenudin said such a method was
\ntoo costly and suggested that the team resume digging the site to
\nsearch for the bodies.<\/p>\n
\"This is not a natural disaster, but a manmade one due to
\nillegal mining activities. I have reported it (the proposed plan)
\nto the (Bogor) regent but I doubt we can get financial aid
\nbecause ... they brought this upon themselves, so they should be
\nheld responsible,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Iwan, 28, a sand miner, said he witnessed the incident but
\nmanaged to flee for his life before returning to try to rescue
\nhis friends.<\/p>\n
\"I don't want to be a sand miner anymore; maybe I'll work as a
\ncontract farmer,\" he said, adding that sand miners usually earned
\nRp 15,000 (US$1.76) to Rp 20,000 per day.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/landslide-victims-yet-to-be-found-official-refuses-financial-aid-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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