Two Unila Students Who Disappeared in Wira Garden Found Dead

JAKARTA - A joint SAR team found two Lampung University (Unila) students who were swept away by the current in Wira Garden after a day of search.

"The two female students were found dead. Both bodies were found at the coordinates 5°27'43.290"S 105°15'53.107"E, precisely in the Pasaran Island area," said the Commander of the Lampung SAR Rescue Team, Santosadi Bandarlampung, Thursday.

The two victims were found in the waters of Pasaran Island after an intensive search was carried out since Wednesday (1/4) afternoon by a joint SAR consisting of Basarnas, BPBD Bandarlampung, Damkarmat Bandarlampung, Polri, and volunteers.

"Based on data from the Lampung Basarnas Rescue Team, the two victims were identified as Fatmawati (22), a student at the Faculty of Science and Technology at Unila from West Tulang Bawang, and Bunga Rosana (22), a student at Unila from Metro," he said, quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, April 2.

The incident of the two victims being swept away began when they came to Wira Garden with two other colleagues, Rika Yolanda and Damayanti, to relax.

"Then, around 12.00 WIB, heavy rain had hit the location. After the rain subsided, the four of them decided to take a photo on a rock in the middle of the river. However, unfortunately, the water suddenly increased drastically due to the late water delivery from upstream," he said.

Then two of the victims' colleagues, Rika and Damayanti, managed to save themselves by jumping to the edge. However, Fatmawati and Bunga did not have time to dodge and were immediately swept away by the very strong current.

"After conducting a search along a radius of 1.5 km until Wednesday (1/4) night, but nothing. The joint SAR team resumed operations on Thursday morning," he said.

East Teluk Betung Police Chief, Kompol Toni Apriadimengimbau, advised all tourist attraction managers and visitors to always be vigilant, especially during extreme weather.

"We urge the public to always be vigilant when carrying out activities around river flows. Unpredictable weather conditions in the upstream can cause a sudden increase in water discharge or late water," he said.

The data on the victims who died were Fatmawati (22) with a residence in Indraloka Jaya Village, Way Kenanga District, West Tulang Bawang Regency, student status of the Faculty of Science and Technology, Unila and Bunga Rosana (22), Hadi Mulyo Village, West Metro District, Metro City, as a student status of Unila.