Landslide victims yet to be found, official refuses financial aid
Landslide victims yet to be found, official refuses financial aid
Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor
Rescue workers were unable on Monday to recover the bodies of
five sand miners who went missing in a landslide in Bogor, West
Java, as fears of more landslides halted Monday's rescue
operations.
The five went missing after a landslide struck a sand quarry
at the foot of a rocky hill in Kampung Lengkong, Pasir Buncir
subdistrict, Caringin, Bogor, on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The five are Idis Jarkasih, 45, his two sons Uen, 22, and
Obay, 17, Ujang Zakanuri Karta, 35, and Eyet Ape, 50. They lived
in nearby Kampung Cipeucang.
Another six people survived the disaster. They are from
Kampung Srogol and Kampung Cipeucang and are identified as Imam,
Gandi, Komar, Jalal, Atang Eman and Pepen. They suffered
fractures and are now being treated at a traditional clinic in
Cimande subdistrict, Bogor.
They were part of a group of sand miners who were digging for
sand in the area, which has been officially closed for sand
mining.
Another two landslides occurred at about 10:15 a.m. on Monday
and forced the rescue team to halt operations.
A police bomb squad team tried, but failed, to detonate part
of the rocky hill at 12:24 a.m. to prevent the recurrence of
landslides, which could have obstructed the search. Although the
impact of the explosion could be felt as far afield as one
kilometer from the location, it produced only a minor tremor on
the rocky hill.
A joint police and military search team initially tried to use
an excavator at the site in the search for the bodies, but
recurring landslides forced them to abort this approach.
A team of researchers from the Bandung-based Mitigation and
Geological Disaster Subdirectorate has been considering other
rescue plans that might not endanger the rescue workers.
The team recommended the use of explosives to level the hill,
but Caringin district head Yasin Zaenudin said such a method was
too costly and suggested that the team resume digging the site to
search for the bodies.
"This is not a natural disaster, but a manmade one due to
illegal mining activities. I have reported it (the proposed plan)
to the (Bogor) regent but I doubt we can get financial aid
because ... they brought this upon themselves, so they should be
held responsible," he said.
Iwan, 28, a sand miner, said he witnessed the incident but
managed to flee for his life before returning to try to rescue
his friends.
"I don't want to be a sand miner anymore; maybe I'll work as a
contract farmer," he said, adding that sand miners usually earned
Rp 15,000 (US$1.76) to Rp 20,000 per day.