Landslide in Bantargebang, police suspect more victims buried

Jakarta (ANTARA) — Polda Metro Jaya suspects that there are still several victims buried in the landslide of the waste pile at the Bantargebang Integrated Waste Processing Facility (TPST) in Bantargebang, Bekasi City, on Sunday.

‘There are believed to be other victims who have not yet been found, as well as several garbage trucks buried by the landslide material,’ said Public Relations Head of Polda Metro Jaya, Senior Commissioner of Police Budi Hermanto, in a statement in Jakarta on Sunday.

Budi explained that Polda Metro Jaya had been handling the incident, which occurred around 14:00 WIB at TPST DKI Zone 4C, Kelurahan Cikiwul, Kecamatan Bantargebang, Kota Bekasi.

‘The landslide of the garbage pile at TPST Bantargebang, Kota Bekasi, Polda Metro Jaya has been conducting on-site operations,’ he added.

As for the exact number of victims, Budi said they are awaiting the results of further search and data collection.

Earlier, the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) of DKI Jakarta disclosed three fatalities after being buried by a waste landslide at the Bantargebang TPST in Desa Ciketing Udik, Kecamatan Bantargebang, Kota Bekasi.

Head of Jakarta SAR Office, Desiana Kartika Bahari, in a statement in Jakarta on Sunday explained that the three victims consisted of two women and one man, who were the owner of a stall and a truck driver.

‘The victims are Enda Widayanti (25), Sumine (60), both stall owners, and Dedi Sutrisno, who was a truck driver,’ she said.

Desiana added that they were still compiling data as many garbage trucks remain buried and there are stalls in the area.

‘For now, data on the number of victims is being collected,’ she said.