Six Jakarta climbers missing on Mount Semeru

JAKARTA (JP): Rescue workers failed yesterday to find six mountain climbers reported missing on Mount Semeru in East Java.

A Search and Rescue (SAR) official at the West Poncokusumo Command Post, Waris, told The Jakarta Post that three SAR groups swept the eastern part of the mountain but found no sign of the climbers from Jakarta.

The SAR groups were from the East Java Mobile Police Brigade, the Mahameru Group of Nature Lovers and the Malang regency.

The climbers were last heard of on Tuesday when a member of the Mahameru SAR group, Nurwahyudi, intercepted a faint radio signal from one of them, who reported their position on the eastern part of the mountain.

Nurwahyudi reported that one of the climbers was believed to have broken a leg.

"Hadi (one of the climbers) told me that three of the climbers had fallen into a ravine," Nurwahyudi was quoted by Antara as saying yesterday.

Nurwahyudi said Hadi told him that the climbers were from the capital. He gave the names of four of them as Siswanto, Bambang, Rini and Rosa. The names of the others remains unknown.

Nurwahyudi denied earlier reports that the climbers were members of the Mapala Group of Nature Lovers from the University of Indonesia.

Head of the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park Sudarmadji said yesterday the missing climbers had ignored danger warnings and trespassed into areas temporarily out of bounds to mountaineers.

"According to our on-duty officials at the Ranu Pane check point, the six climbers never reported their presence in the area. They climbed Mount Semeru illegally because it had been declared closed for climbing since Jan. 15," he told Antara in Malang, East Java.

Asked why the climbers could still enter the mountain area even though it had been closed to the public, Sudarmadji said it was beyond the officials' capability to keep people out.

"The mountain is not barricaded with fences. Anybody can climb it," he said.

He said that climbers could reach the summit from two sides of the mountain. "They can start from Lumajang or from Malang," he said.

When asked about the truth of the intercepted radio signal, Sudarmadji said it needed to be verified.

"I'm still in doubt of the signal's accuracy as it is difficult to receive any radio signals from the mentioned location.

"It is also impossible for them to have a large supply of batteries for the radio because they reportedly started climbing on Jan. 29."

Mount Semeru, the highest peak in Java at 3,676 meters, was closed to climbers because of stormy and foggy weather.

"However, the mountain will probably be reopened in April when the weather is expected to return to normal," Sudarmadji said. (imn)