Two Hikers Missing on Mount Semeru as Search Is Launched
Two hikers from Sidoarjo have reportedly gone missing while climbing Mount Semeru (3,676 metres above sea level) in Lumajang regency, East Java.
The report was received by the Banyuwangi Search and Rescue Office on Saturday afternoon (7 November). “We received a report of a life-threatening emergency involving two hikers who were reported missing in the Mount Semeru area, in Ranu Pani district, Lumajang regency,” said I Made Oka Astawa, head of the Banyuwangi SAR Office, in a written statement quoted by Antara.
After receiving information from the head of the Ranu Pani Resort Office of the national park authority at 2.37pm on Saturday, the office immediately deployed a team to conduct a search and rescue operation.
The two hikers were identified by their initials, BK and MWF, both aged 19. “The initial information was that they planned to climb Mount Semeru on 31 October 2026,” Astawa said.
They had been unreachable since about 9pm on 2 November 2026. Information received by the SAR office suggested that they may have climbed without following the official permit procedures.
“Relevant parties have made efforts to find out where the two missing people are. On 4 November, it was established that they had hired a motorbike at Lumajang Terminal to travel to the Ranu Pani area,” Astawa said.
The following day, Thursday (5 November), the vehicle hirer and Ranu Pani national park staff searched for the pair. At 1pm on Friday (6 November), the hired motorbike was found in a resident’s field near the Mount Semeru climbing area.
“The discovery is one of the leads in the search for the two hikers. We immediately deployed personnel, and the Jember SAR Post Rescue Team set off for the scene, with an estimated journey time of about three hours and 26 minutes,” Astawa said.
The operation involved four personnel from the Jember SAR Post and five from the Banyuwangi SAR Office, as well as the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park Authority (TNBTS), Surabaya Metropolitan Police, the Lumajang Regency Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) and local residents.
Teams were equipped with operational vehicles, thermal drones, mountaineering and jungle-rescue equipment, medical supplies and evacuation gear. Weather at the site was reported to be partly cloudy.
“The search will be conducted to the fullest, with coordination and cooperation among all elements of the joint SAR team as our priority. As of this initial report, the two hikers remain missing,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lumajang BPBD chief executive Isnugroho said his agency was still awaiting official information from TNBTS about the missing hikers.
“The hikers’ family has filed a missing-person report in Sidoarjo. Basarnas teams have also headed to Ranu Pani, and the TNBTS team is reportedly preparing a search team, so Lumajang BPBD is ready to assist in the search,” he said.