IBRA spokesman found dead after river accident
IBRA spokesman found dead after river accident
Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor
After a two-day search, the Indonesian Bank Restructuring
Agency (IBRA) spokesman Raymond van Beekum was found dead after a
river rafting mishap near Sukasari village, Rumpin district,
Bogor regency, on Sunday.
Van Beekum went missing on Friday afternoon after a torrent of
water suddenly swept him away during a rafting trip on the
Cisadane River, following a media workshop organized by IBRA.
His body was found in the river on the approach to Serpong,
Tangerang, or some 30 kilometers away from where he was last
seen.
The body was discovered, floating in the river at about noon,
by two sandminers, Syamsudin and Rahmat who then reported it to
the local authorities.
Police took the body to the Red Cross hospital in Bogor for
further examination.
According to Ahyani, a local community chief, Van Beekum's
body was in a terrible state as his head was severely wounded --
presumably from collisions with rocks -- and his body was already
swollen.
However, Bogor Police deputy chief Adj. Comr. Budi Prasetyo
said family members managed to positively identify the body as
van Beekum's.
That afternoon, head of IBRA, Syafruddin Temenggung, said that
because the body was already found, the search party would be
dismissed and van Beekum's body would taken to a funeral parlor
in Batu Tulis, Bogor.
Van Beekum is survived by his wife Agnes Metta and a
six-month-old son.
According to eyewitnesses, also on the Friday rafting trip, a
large wave knocked him off a rock in the middle of the river at
about 2:30 p.m.
Two reporters, also on the rafting trip -- Adinda of
newsportal detikcom and Irfan of Radio NamLapanHa -- said that
the conditions of the river were normal when they started out
from nearby Ciherang Pondok village.
One of the seven rafts being used suffered a puncture, so its
passengers, also reporters, climbed in to van Beekum's raft.
Near a lengthy section of rapids called Jeram Panjang, a large
wave suddenly hit the raft. Van Beekum, Leanika Tanjung of Tempo
weekly and Nuri of Rakyat Merdeka daily were tossed into the
water.
Wearing life vests, they managed to get back in to the raft.
but Van Beekum was stranded on a rock. He was knocked off back
into the strong rapids and was unable to make his way back to the
raft.
Approximately 150 volunteers and personnel from student
mountaineering clubs, the National Search and Rescue Agency, the
Police and Indonesian Military were involved in the search.
The rescue team focused their search on the section of the
river between Bogor in West Java and Tangerang in Banten,
officials said.
Van Beekum's wife, Agnes Metta, his parents and Syafruddin
Temenggung also joined in the search.