SAR Team Expands Search for Missing Teen Trapped in West Lombok Waterfall

JAKARTA - The joint SAR team has expanded the search area for a teenager named Heri Saputra (16) who was lost in the flood at Temburun Nanas Waterfall, Bukit Tinggi Village, Gunung Sari District, West Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara.

"On this second day of the search, the team deployed drones to conduct aerial monitoring along the river flow to detect the whereabouts of the victim," said the Field Coordinator of the Mataram SAR Office, Dewa Gede Kerta in Mataram, Tuesday, quoted by Antara.

His party, together with the local SAR potential, is optimizing all available resources, so that other personnel conduct manual searches from the point where the victim from Mertak Village, Central Lombok Regency, fell, to the estuary at the Meninting Dam.

"To optimize monitoring, especially in difficult-to-reach areas, we plan to use drones to conduct aerial mapping and visual search from a height," he said.

He also added that natural conditions were the main challenge for the team in the field. "Our constraints are unpredictable weather, fluctuating water discharge, very strong currents to the river terrain dominated by large and slippery rocks and many rapids," he added.

This accident began on Monday, April 6 afternoon, when the victim and his colleagues were on a trip to Temburun Nanas Waterfall. Unexpectedly, the flood came crashing down and dragged two teenagers into the river.

"One victim was successfully evacuated in a safe condition, while Heri Saputra was carried away by the current and has not been found," he said.

This SAR operation involves cross-agency collaboration, including the Mataram SAR Office, TNI and Polri, BPBD West Lombok Regency, Damkartan West Lombok Regency, Bukit Tinggi Village Apparatus and local residents.

"The joint SAR team is still trying their best in the field in the hope that the victim can be found soon," he said.