MANOKWARI - The joint SAR team succeeded in evacuating the bodies of five victims of flash floods and landslides that hit Jim Village, Catubouw District, Arfak Mountains Regency, West Papua.
Head of the National SAR Agency (Basarnas) Manokwari Yefri Sabaruddin said the number of victims who died from the natural disaster had already been six people.
"The third day of the search operation found five victims, so a total of six people," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, May 19.
The evacuation of five victims took place between 10.WIT until 12.05 WIT, after which it was sent to the Bhayangkara Hospital of the West Papua Police in Manokwari for identification.
The joint SAR team temporarily suspended the search operation for 14 other victims who had been declared missing, due to weather conditions at the scene endangering the safety of the team.
"The victim died which was found the day before, named Harun Maidodga. His body has been handed over to the family," said Yefri.
"There are 24 victims. Four people survived, six people died, and 14 victims are still being searched," he explained.
In addition to extreme weather, the limitations of heavy equipment hampered the search process carried out by the team because the landslide material in the form of mud, stones, and trees could not be moved.
The joint SAR team will continue the search for victims on Tuesday (20 May 2025) with the help of heavy equipment that facilitates the process of carrying out the evacuation quickly and precisely.
"After stopping the operation, all personnel returned to the post and carried out a debriefing at 13.28 WIT," said Yefri.
SEE ALSO:
The Head of the West Papua Police Dokkes, Kombes Dr. Iskandar, said the process of identifying the victim's body would involve the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) Team.
The overall identification process includes forensic examination, fingerprints, and antemortem data matching obtained from each victim's family.
"We have prepared a DVI team to carry out comprehensive identification of the victims," said Iskandar.
Flash floods and landslides in Jim Village, Catubouw District, occurred on Friday (16/5) at around 21.00 WIT due to the very high intensity of rainfall.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
