Search and Rescue Operation Suspended After Two Sand Miners Missing in Mount Merapi Cold Lahar Flood Remain Unfound

The search operation for two sand miners missing after being swept away by a cold lahar flood from Mount Merapi in the Senowo River (south-west side of Merapi), Magelang Regency, Central Java, was halted after running for one week on Monday, 9 March 2026. The two residents identified as Hasyim and Maryuni were not found.

The Head of the Semarang Search and Rescue Office, Budiono, stated that his office, through the Borobudur Search and Rescue Alert Unit, together with members of a combined search and rescue team, had attempted to search for the two missing sand miners in the Senowo River. The search process was conducted by combing the river area, including deploying four pieces of heavy equipment.

“We have deployed four pieces of heavy equipment in the form of excavators to help clear piles of sand in the area where the victims are suspected to be. However, the vastness of the search area means that the team’s efforts have not yet yielded results,” Budiono said in a statement on Tuesday, 10 March 2026.

He explained that the search was conducted by maximising excavators around the location of the accident up to DAM 1 approximately 600 metres away, and around the point where a victim named Heru was found, a distance of 300 metres. Previously, four sand miners had gone missing after being swept away by the cold lahar flood from Mount Merapi in the Senowo River. However, the search and rescue team had found two victims named Heru and Fuad in a deceased state.