Teenager in Bekasi Dies Drowning in Football Field Submerged by 2 Meter Flood

Residents of Kedungwaringin District, Bekasi Regency, evacuated the body of a teenager who drowned in the flooded football field area which was two meters high. (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The flood disaster that hit Bojongsari Village, Kedungwaringin District, Bekasi Regency, West Java, caused one teenager with the initials J (19) to die after drowning in a football field area that was submerged in water up to two meters.

The teenager from Kampung Nanggewer, Labansari Village, East Cikarang District was found dead after drowning in a football field after playing with three of his friends.

"The incident happened yesterday afternoon. The victim had to swim 50 meters from the shore and stopped hanging on the goalpost, possibly because of exhaustion," said local medical staff, Taryana, Tuesday, quoted by Antara.

He revealed that the three colleagues who saw the victim's condition were weakened immediately swam to the mainland to ask for help from the surrounding residents, but shortly after the victim drowned.

Receiving a report from a fellow victim, local residents started the search process even though it was hampered by the fact that the boat facilities that were usually used were being used to evacuate other flood victims.

"When found, the victim did not show any signs of life. His pulse was not palpable, there was no breath, his face was pale and blue," he said.

Taryana admitted that he had provided first aid in the form of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with chest compression for 10 minutes. However, this effort was not successful. The ambulance that came to the location then confirmed that the victim had died.

The victim's family asked that the body be immediately repatriated to the funeral home. Based on the information collected, the victim is known to be able to swim. However, it is suspected that during the incident he was in poor health. "It is likely that the victim is in poor health so that the victim drowned," he said.

It is known that the flooding in the Bojongsari Village area, Kedungwaringin District, was caused by the overflow of the Citarum and Cibeet Rivers. Residents are urged to remain vigilant and avoid activities in flood areas in order to prevent similar incidents from being repeated.

"We urge the public to remain vigilant and avoid activities in flood areas in order to prevent undesirable things," said Camat Kedungwaringin Maman Badruzaman.