Elderly man missing in Kupang, believed swept away by flood while on the way to his garden

An 81-year-old grandfather named Yohanis Bureni was reported missing while he was on his way to his garden in Nekbaun Village, Amarasi Barat District, Kupang Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). As of now, the search-and-rescue team had not located him. “The victim has not been found. We are still scanning the river suspected to have swept him away by the flood,” said Mexianus Bekabel, head of the Kupang Class A Search and Rescue Office, to detikBali on Thursday, 5 February 2026. Mexianus explained that the incident began when Yohanis went to his garden on Sunday (1 February 2026) at around 09:00 local time (WITA). A few moments later, a local resident saw him on the bank of the Totgom River, not far from the garden. By the afternoon, Yohanis had not returned. The family, together with local residents, tried to search around the garden and the Totgom River but found nothing. Finally, the family reported the incident to the Kupang Class A Search and Rescue Office on Monday morning (2 February 2026) for a search operation. In response to the report, nine rescue team members were deployed to the scene using two D-Max-type rescue vehicles, equipped with SAR equipment to carry out the search and rescue operation. During the search, the joint SAR team combed the area around the incident site. However, to date, results have been negative. The day’s search also involved the Kupang Regency BPBD, Amarasi Police Station, as well as community members and the victim’s family. “This morning around 07:00 local time, officers were still searching for the victim. We hope he is found soon,” Mexianus concluded.