Pringsewu Residents Find The Body Of A Man Suspected Of Being A Flood Victim

A corpse suspected of being a flood victim was found floating in a river in Bulurejo Village, Pringsewu, Lampung.

In the midst of the flood that still submerged hundreds of houses in Pringsewu Regency, a resident of Bulurejo, Gadingrejo District, was shocked by the discovery of a floating corpse in the Way Cinta River.

The man's body was first found by two local residents who were fishing in the Way Cinta River on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, at around 13.45 WIB. The two people initially thought the floating object was garbage or pillows.

However, after being pushed by a vortex of water, they saw a shape resembling a human head. Feeling suspicious, the two approached to make sure.

After knowing that the floating one was a human body, the two witnesses immediately screamed for help. Because there were no residents around the location, they ran to the nearest settlement to report the discovery of the body. Residents then reported the discovery of the body to the police.

Following up on residents' reports, Gadingrejo Police officers immediately went to the location where the bodies were found to identify and evacuate.

Gadingrejo Deputy Chief of Police, Ipda Decki Ariyadi, said that after receiving the report, his party immediately coordinated with health workers, the TNI, and BPBD.

"After processing the crime scene (TKP), the victim's body was evacuated to Pringsewu Hospital for further investigation," Decki said Wednesday, January 22.

Decki explained that the victim is estimated to be over 40 years old and has special characteristics, such as dragon tattoos on the right chest, flower tattoos on the left chest, and small tattoos on the left hand. With these characteristics, the police managed to identify the victim.

"The victim is known as Suradi (54), a resident of Pekon Sidodadi, Pagelaran District, Pringsewu Regency," said Decki.

Furthermore, Decki revealed that the results of the interim investigation showed that the death of the victim was allegedly due to drowning and was not related to a criminal act. This is reinforced by the results of a medical examination that did not find any signs of violence on the victim's body.

"Based on the physical characteristics and condition of the body, medical personnel suspect the victim had died about two days before being found," said Decki.

The victim's family has accepted this incident and stated that they are not willing to do an autopsy. The victim's body was then handed over to the family for burial.

Meanwhile, regarding the development of flooding in several areas of Pringsewu Regency, until the third day, the flood still submerged a number of sub-districts with water levels reaching 40 to 50 centimeters, hampering residents' activities. In addition to submerging hundreds of houses, the flood is still inundating the residents' roads and agricultural land.

After three days of being hit by floods, residents began to have difficulty getting food and clean water because the road access was cut off and the well water was polluted with flood material.

To help the affected residents, the Pringsewu Regency Government (Pemkab) has prepared public kitchens and health services in a number of areas.

Acting (Pj) Regent of Pringsewu Marindo Kurniawan together with the Flood Disaster Task Force (Satgas) inspected the locations affected by the flood to ensure the condition of the community.

Marindo Kurniawan said, in addition to ensuring the current conditions in the field, his party also distributed assistance in the form of basic necessities, such as ready-to-eat food, medicines, and other equipment needed by the community.

"The safety and welfare of the community are our top priority. The Pringsewu Regency Government will continue to work hard to help the affected residents, both through evacuation steps and the provision of logistical assistance," said Marindo Kurniawan at the flood-affected location, last Wednesday.

The Pringsewu Regency Government also appealed to the public to remain vigilant against potential extreme weather that may still occur in the next few days. Residents are asked to immediately report emergency conditions to related parties to get further assistance.