Four Magelang miners missing after being swept away by Mount Merapi’s cold lava floods

Heavy rain at the summit of Mount Merapi on Tuesday afternoon into evening (3 March 2026) triggered cold lava floods along the Senowo River on the southwestern flank of Merapi, in Magelang Regency, Central Java. The incident left four sand miners active along the riverbank swept away by the cold lava flow. We received a report on Tuesday afternoon around 4 p.m. that a cold lava disaster had swept four miners along the Senowo River. At present we have deployed one team from the Magelang Search and Rescue (SAR) Unit to conduct the search, said Budiono, head of the Semarang SAR Office, in a statement on Wednesday (4 March 2026). In addition to the four missing, one local resident has been killed and six farmers injured as a result of the disaster. The identities of the deceased and missing have been identified. The four missing sand miners are Maryuni, Heru, and Hasyim, residents of Dukuh Krinjing, Dukun Village, and Fuad, a resident of Srumbung. All are residents of Magelang Regency. The deceased has been identified as Iman Setiawan (21), a resident of Karanganyar, Tugu, Semarang City.