Merapi Cold Lahar Flood: Three Dead, Two Still Missing

A joint search-and-rescue (SAR) team recovered two bodies among rocks during day two of the search for victims of the cold lahar flood along the Senowo River on the slopes of Mount Merapi, Dukun, Magelang Regency, Central Java, on Wednesday, 3 March. The cold lahar flood struck on Tuesday, 3 March, at around 15:30 WIB after heavy rains drenched the summit area of Mount Merapi. In the first day of operations yesterday, one victim was found dead at the scene and four others were being sought, while six people were injured. Two of them were still receiving treatment at Muntilan Hospital. Thus, three bodies have been recovered, with two others still being sought. Arif Yulianto, coordinator of the Borobudur SAR standby unit, said that two other victims were still being sought. The two bodies found today were Heru Setyawan (25), a resident of Krinjing, and Arif Fuad Hasan (26), a resident of Ngargosoko Srumbung, Magelang Regency. He said that on the second day of the operation the teams were divided into three Search and Rescue Units (SRU) to speed up the evacuation with a search radius of up to four kilometres from the starting point. The first SRU conducted sweeps attached to the Magelang City Police K9 unit. The second SRU swept from the initial location where the vehicle became trapped to Dam 1. The third SRU conducted searches from Dam 1 to Dam 2, ending in the Bendo area. “From the information we have received, four victims were reported missing. Thank God, two victims have been found today. The search for the remaining two victims is ongoing,” said Arif Yulianto in Magelang on Wednesday. He added that the two bodies were found among large rocks about three kilometres from the initial incident point. “The search operation involved Basarnas, the TNI, Polri, and volunteers from various SAR-capable communities in Magelang region and surroundings,” said Arif. In addition to fatalities, the cold lahar flood also caused material losses. Based on preliminary data, three trucks were swept away by the river flow, while 12 other trucks were stranded in the lahar flow area. Two Kobelco heavy machines were also reported to be buried under sand and rock material and have not yet been recovered.