Joint SAR Team Searches for Two PT BIO Employees Missing During Hunt

Jayapura (ANTARA) - A joint SAR team, consisting of personnel from SAR Merauke, the Ulilin Police Sector, and the Ulilin Military Command, has been deployed to search for two employees of PT BIO who were reported missing while hunting in the forests of the Ulilin District, Merauke Regency.

The Head of SAR Merauke, Rudi, stated on Monday that the incident began when Benyamin Klau (40) went hunting in the forest within the PT BIO operational area on Friday (2/10), but failed to return to his residence by Sunday (4/10).

Subsequently, the victim’s colleague, Nurkholis (40), decided to enter the forest to search for Benyamin; however, as of Sunday night at 22:21 WIT, Nurkholis had also failed to return, Rudi said.

In his statement, the Head of SAR Merauke noted that the incident was reported to SAR Merauke, which then dispatched a six-person team to the scene.

The distance from the Merauke SAR Office to the location is estimated at 160.61 km, and the team is travelling via land with an estimated travel time of approximately four hours.

On Monday morning (5/10), the joint team conducted search operations assisted by local residents and PT BIO employees, but the individuals had not been found by nightfall.

Weather conditions at the site were reported as partly cloudy with winds blowing from the east at speeds of 10–20 km/h.

“The search operation is being carried out by maximising coordination between the various elements of the joint SAR team and utilising thermal drone technology to sweep the forest area,” said Rudi.