Landslide in Batangtoru, South Tapanuli: Mother and Daughter Missing After Being Buried

Heavy rains that drenched Batangtoru District in South Tapanuli Regency, North Sumatra, triggered a landslide. As a result, two people—a mother and her child—were buried under the landslide debris and remain missing.

Batangtoru Police Chief AKP Penggar M Siboro said the incident began when heavy rain drenched the area around 17:00 WIB. The extreme weather then triggered a landslide around 19:00 in a residential area.

‘The landslide occurred in the residential area of Lingkungan II, Kelurahan Wek I, Batangtoru District. The two victims were swept away by the landslide debris and have not been found to date,’ he said on Tuesday (19 May).

The missing victims are mother and child: Yasine Gulo (43), a resident of Kelurahan Wek I, and Sariman Gulo (25), also a local resident.

‘Search efforts have been conducted with local residents. However, to date the two victims have not been found,’ he explained.

To speed up the evacuation, officers also prepared additional lighting at the site and sought to deploy heavy equipment. This step was deemed important given the relatively thick landslide material and the terrain conditions hindering the search process.

‘Search operations are ongoing with the community. We are also arranging lighting and heavy equipment to assist the search at the site,’ said AKP Penggar.