ESDM says IMERC 2026 is a platform to boost competence, Freeport named overall champion

Director General of Minerals and Coal at the Ministry of ESDM, Tri Winarno, stated that the Indonesia Mining Emergency Response Community (IMERC) 2026 competition is designed as a space for rescuers to improve competence whilst strengthening preparedness. “IMERC is a collective learning process to hone technical skills, strengthen coordination, test decision-making, and build trust between team members,” said Tri Winarno during the closing remarks of IMERC 2026, as quoted in a confirmed statement in Jakarta on Monday. In the emergency response competition that brought together 24 Emergency Response Teams (ERT) from Indonesian and Australian mining companies, Freeport Indonesia secured the top position in the final standings, followed by PT Berau Coal in second place and PT Cipta Kridatama in third. The winners were announced during the closing of IMERC 2026 in Balikpapan on Sunday (9/8/2026). Tri Winarno stressed that the experience gained during the competition should not end in the arena. These skills need to be brought back to the companies and applied to strengthen safety systems and preparedness for emergency situations. “Ultimately, the success of an emergency response team is measured not only by achievements in the competition arena, but by the readiness and capability when a real emergency occurs,” he said. In this year’s competition, Freeport Indonesia was the best in four categories: Under Water Rescue & Recovery, Individual Skill, Road Crash Rescue, and Structural Fire Fighting. PT Cipta Kridatama won first place in the Fire Fighter Combat Challenge, whilst PT Vale Indonesia became the champion in Confined Space Rescue. The other two categories, Theory Test and Vertical Rescue, were won by PT Berau Coal. Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Garuda Rescue Nusantara Foundation, Joko Tri Raharjo, said the end of the competition is actually a momentum for participants to apply the experience gained during IMERC. “The experience and learning obtained during IMERC are expected to serve as provisions for participants to continuously improve competence and strengthen preparedness, both at their respective workplaces and for the community in need,” said Joko Tri. He affirmed that Garuda Rescue Nusantara will continue to develop IMERC as a platform for collaboration and learning to build a reliable, professional, adaptive, and sustainable emergency response ecosystem. IMERC 2026 took place from 6-9 August 2026 at the training and simulation facilities of Garuda Rescue Nusantara (GRN), with PT Putra Perkasa Abadi (PPA) acting as this year’s host. This event is the second edition after first being held in 2025.