Search For Missing Elderly In IKN Forests, SAR Team Faces Difficult Medan And Bad Weather

The joint SAR team is searching for an elderly person (elderly) who is missing in the Walled Stone Forest in the Capital City of the Archipelago (IKN) area.

The Batu Wall Forest is a forest area in Bukit Merdeka Village, Samboja District in the IKN area, which is currently still in the Kutai Kartanegara Regency, border with Balikpapan City.

"The resident who was reported missing was named Arman, aged 60, who was reported missing while looking for wood in the Batu Wall Forest area," said the Commander of the Rescue Team for the Balikpapan City SAR Office, Ari Triyanto, in Samboja, East Kalimantan, Tuesday, June 24, which was confiscated by Antara.

Based on the report, Ari said the victim, a resident of Semoi II, Sepaku, North Penajam Paser Regency, was known to have left for wood since Friday, June 20 at 09.00 WITA. However, until Saturday, June 21, Arman had not returned home.

The family then reported the incident to the Balikpapan SAR Office on Sunday, June 22 at 12.50 WITA. Following up on the report, the Balikpapan SAR team immediately coordinated and moved to the scene at 13.10 WITA.

The search was carried out immediately since the report was made until Monday, June 23, and continued this Tuesday, June 24. The search method is carried out in accordance with the SAR operation plan, namely with a search area covering a radius of 2 kilometers (km) from the starting point.

"Access to the location can only be passed on foot. Road conditions are quite slippery due to previous rain. However, we are still trying our best by dividing the search sector and utilizing all existing resources. We hope that the victim will be found safe soon," said Ari.

He also said that the main inhibition factors in this operation were forest fields that were difficult to access, rainy weather conditions, and limited communication networks around the scene, which made communication between elements in the field difficult.

"The Balikpapan SAR Office together with related elements will continue to search and open a coordination room with the surrounding community, namely if residents find clues or information regarding the whereabouts of the victim, we ask to immediately provide information," he said.