Joint SAR Team Finds Two Bodies of Merapi Lahar Victims Among Rocks

Magelang (ANTARA) - A joint search and rescue (SAR) team has again found two bodies among large rocks during the second day of the search for victims of the cold lava flood in the Senowo River flow on the slopes of Mount Merapi, Dukun, Magelang Regency, Central Java. Arif Yulianto, coordinator of the Borobudur SAR standby unit in Magelang, said on Wednesday that two other victims were still being sought. The two victims found are Heru Setyawan (25), a resident of Krinjing, and Arif Fuad Hasan (26), a resident of Ngargosoko, Srumbung, Magelang Regency. He said that on the second day the operation was divided into three Search and Rescue Units (SRU) to speed up evacuation with a search radius of up to four kilometres from the initial location. ‘From the information we received there were four victims reported missing. Alhamdulillah, today two victims have been found. The search for the other two is ongoing,’ Arif Yulianto said. He added that the two bodies were found among large rocks about three kilometres from the initial incident point. ‘The search operation involved Basarnas, the TNI, the Police, and volunteers from various SAR community groups in the Magelang area and its surroundings,’ Arif said. Two Kobelco heavy equipment machines were also reportedly buried under sand and rock debris and have not yet been evacuated. It is understood the cold lava flood occurred on Tuesday (3/3) around 15:30 WIB after heavy rainfall drenched the summit of Mount Merapi. In the first day of operations, one victim was found dead at the scene and four others missing, while six people were injured. Two of them are receiving treatment at Muntilan Hospital.