Landslide-hit road reopened to traffic after 42 bodies recovered

Imran Rusli, Padang

The Ujung Gading-Panti road connecting Padang and Medan, the capital of North Sumatra, reopened on Monday after the route was cut by a deadly landslide last Friday that left 42 people dead, all passengers on the same bus.

The PO ALS bus that was buried under an avalanche of mud during the deadly landslide has been cleared from the road.

"Traffic has returned to normal," said Adj. Comr. M. Zaini, the chief of East Pasaman Police, when contacted by The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

He said the cleanup of debris and mud along the road had been completed on Monday, and the bodies of all of the victims had been recovered.

The officer confirmed that a total of 39 bus passengers died at the scene, three died later at Lubuk Sikaping Hospital, three were badly injured, eight were slightly injured and four passengers escaped the incident unharmed.

The landslide occurred as the bus was traveling through Panti subdistrict during a rainstorm. The bus was heading from East Pasaman regency in West Sumatra to Medan.

Although traffic had returned to normal on Tuesday, a government official warned motorists to remain vigilant for more possible landslides in the area.

"Landslides can happen at anytime, especially on rainy days," said Yazid, an official in the road infrastructure office at the East Pasaman regency administration.

Officials blame landslides in the area on rampant deforestation. The Rimbo Panti forest, which used to cover the hills about the highway, has been heavily deforested and large areas of land are completely denuded.

The executive director of the West Sumatra chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment, Teguh, said deforestation in the area was caused by unchecked illegal logging.

"We have campaigned against illegal logging in the Rimbo Panti forest, including sending letters to government and security officials. But the practice continues," he said.

He voiced suspicion that the illegal loggers were being backed by security and government officials.

Rimbo Panti was declared a protected forest on June 8, 1932. Besides being home to protected plants, the forest also is populated by rare animals such as the Sumatran tiger.

East Pasaman Regent Baharuddin denied the regency administration or security personnel were involved in illegal logging, claiming that they were in fact waging an intense battle against illegal loggers.

"There was indeed illegal logging in the forest, but we have taken stern measures against those illegal loggers. We confiscated the illegal logs they stole from the forest and we forced them to pay compensation to the local community," he said.

Separately, the victims of the landslide and their families may not receive insurance payments in compensation for their pain and suffering.

Bedri Kasman, an official at the West Sumatra office of state insurance company PT Jasa Rahardja, said it was still uncertain whether the victims would be compensated.

"We are still waiting for the final police report on the case. We are also waiting for a response from our head office in Jakarta, whether the victims will receive compensation. This type of accident is unusual," he said.

Part of the fares that all bus passengers pay goes to PT Jasa Rahardja, entitling passengers to compensation from the insurance company when they are involved in an accident.