Nine 'santri' feared drowned in Serayu

PURBALINGGA, Central Java (JP): Nine local santri, Islamic boarding school students swept away by a strong current of Serayu River here on Friday, three of them are believed to be drowned.

Rescue workers from Banyumas Police and local residents discovered six survivors at 9 p.m. after six hours of search. The students, identified as Syafei Mustofa, 19, Abdurrahman, 18, Nuraeni, 12, Sukoyo, 23, Akhiriyanto, 12, and Mufid, 20, were rushed to Banjarnegara General Hospital.

Saefudin, 21, Arif Ridwan, 15, Nurrahman, 19, remained missing as the search was suspended.

The nine students of the Minhajuttolabah boarding school were attempting to retrieve a tree from the Serayu River in Kembangan village, Bukateja district, when the accident took place.

Bukateja police chief First Insp. Suprihatin said that he believed that the missing students were probably dead.

"The victims probably couldn't resist the strong current," Suprihatin told reporters at the scene.

Only four days earlier, two girls were drowned into the river. Their bodies were found later in the day.

The Serayu River is the largest river in the area, running 12 meters deep and 50 meters wide.

Police quoted witnesses as saying that the students were last seen at around 3:00 p.m. looking for wood near the river, some four kilometers from their dormitory. The group is reported to have discovered a fallen tree in the middle of the river, which they tried to remove with a rope.

Five students jumped into the river with the rope while four others anchored the rope on the embankment.

"The rope broke and the remaining four also jumped into the river trying to help their friends," Suprihatin said. (45)