161 Bodies Of Verified West Sumatra Disaster Victims, 25 Still Waiting For DNA Match

Head of Dokkes Polda West Sumatra AKBP dr. Faizal, said that to this day 193 victims have died as a result of disasters that hit a number of districts/cities in West Sumatra/ Photo: IST

JAKARTA - The process of identifying victims of flash floods and landslides in West Sumatra continues to be accelerated by the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) Team of the West Sumatra Police Biddokkes. Of the 193 victims who died 161 bodies have been identified, some have been returned to their families.

The Head of the West Sumatra Police Dokkes, AKBP dr. Faizal, said that to this day 193 victims have died as a result of disasters that hit a number of districts/cities in West Sumatra.

"Of these, 161 bodies have been identified, while 32 others are still in process, including 25 bodies currently in Bhayangkara Padang Hospital," he said in a written statement, December 3, 2025.

He detailed that of the 58 body bags received by Bhayangkara Hospital since November 27, 2025, 33 bodies have been identified through primary and secondary data and have been handed over to the family.

"While the other 25 bodies are still unknown because there is no match to the antemortem data," he said

In addition, Karumkit Bhayangkara TK III Padang, Kompol Hari Andromeda, emphasized that the identification process really depends on the completeness of comparative data from the victim's family.

"We urge people who feel they have lost their family members to immediately come to the antemortem post at Bhayangkara Padang Hospital. The sooner the comparative data comes in, the sooner we can complete the identification," he said.

He also explained that most of the bodies that were difficult to identify were children. Many of them are suspected of losing their parents or close relatives who should report, so that no antemortem data has yet been entered.

To support the smooth identification process, Bhayangkara Hospital has now received an additional cold storage car from the West Sumatra Agriculture Service.

"This facility helps maintain the condition of the corpse during the forensic process," he added.

Furthermore, the Head of Sub-Division of Public Relations of the West Sumatra Police, Kompol Omni Yan Sahureka, added that the West Sumatra Police would work optimally until all disaster victims were identified.

"The West Sumatra Police invites people who have lost their families to immediately provide antemortem data to Bhayangkara Hospital or the nearest DVI post. Comparative data is very important so that the identification process can be accelerated immediately," he said.

He hopes that cooperation from the community can accelerate the entire identification process, so that the victim's body can be immediately handed back to the family for proper burial.

"Hopefully the entire process of identifying the bodies goes well, the victims can be handed back immediately to the family," he concluded.