10 Search and Rescue Dogs Arrive in Flores, Focused on Finding Earthquake Victims
Ten K-9 search and rescue dogs belonging to the Indonesian National Police headquarters have arrived in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, on Sunday (16/8/2026). The dogs will be focused on searching for victims of the earthquake that struck the region.
“Ten specially trained search and rescue dogs have arrived at the location to search for victims,” said East Nusa Tenggara Police Chief Inspector General Rudi Darmoko during a press conference with Deputy Police Chief Brigadier General Faizal and several senior officers at the East Nusa Tenggara Police headquarters on Sunday evening.
Rudi explained that the ten dogs will be deployed by 21 animal unit personnel in the search for victims believed to be still buried under building debris. The deployment of the animals is also accompanied by a veterinarian.
Three areas that are the initial priority for search and mitigation efforts are Sikka, Manggarai, and East Manggarai. However, he assured that assistance can be directed to other areas if field reports indicate urgent needs.
“A public relations team of nine people, a logistics team of three people, and a psychology team have also been dispatched,” Rudi explained.
According to Rudi, the psychology team will collaborate with the East Nusa Tenggara Police team to provide trauma healing to disaster victims at evacuation posts.
“The East Nusa Tenggara Police also already has therapist counsellors with the ability to use the universal spiritual emotional freedom technique (USEFT). This is very effective for releasing emotions, eliminating phobias, trauma, and so on,” said Rudi.
In addition, the National Police headquarters is also optimising air transport support by sending a CASA aircraft belonging to the Police Air and Marine Corps used since the aftermath of the disaster to accelerate mobility to several areas, including Labuan Bajo and other regions.
Furthermore, three AW169 helicopters have been prepared to support the distribution of aid to isolated areas and areas with limited access.
“This air transport can be extremely helpful in logistics distribution. There is also a shipment of fast food from the National Police headquarters,” Rudi concluded.