Fifteen people die in Bogor flash flood

Fifteen people die in Bogor flash flood

JAKARTA (JP): Fifteen people died in a flash flood near a
popular waterfall on the Cihedung river near Bogor, West Java,
over the weekend. Seven bodies were recovered yesterday morning
and eight on Sunday.

"Now we have found 15 people killed in the flood,"a member of
the Search and Rescue (SAR) team told Antara at the Bogor Red
Cross General Hospital yesterday.

The flood, caused by sudden heavy rain, occurred on Sunday
afternoon at the Curug Luhur nature park and camping ground,
where a number of people were walking by and swimming in the
river, the news agency said.

The SAR team was still searching for another person who
reportedly went missing during the flood.

"We will continue our efforts to find the victim," said the
SAR member.

Five of the seven victims found yesterday have been identified
as Haris, 22, Supandi, 24, Nani, 22, Syahri Ramadhan, 22, and
Teguh, 23. The other two, a woman and a man, had yet to be
identified as of yesterday.

The eight victims found on Sunday shortly after the accident
have been identified as Irma, 22, Desi, 20, Heny Setiowaty, 21,
Mashudi, 19, Nahrowi, 36, Udin Saepudin, 21, Edy Suwarto, 30, and
Sumarna, 28.

All of them were residents of Jakarta.

The morgue at the Bogor Red Cross General Hospital was crowded
with relatives of the victims, many of whom were continuously in
tears. The emotionally charged atmosphere was such that reporters
did not have the heart to interview any of the relatives.

The accident happened while a group of 16 people were swimming
in the river when a flash flood, triggered by heavy rains, came
and swept them away.

It was reported that the victims came to the recreation site
in three separate groups.

So fast was the arrival of the flood that not one of them had
time to save themselves. (bas)