SAR Adds 2 Heavy Equipment to Search for Cisarua Landslide Victims

Eight heavy equipment were deployed at point A2 in the search for the Cisarua landslide, West Bandung Regency on Friday (30/1/2026). ANTARA/Ilham Nugraha

BANDUNG - The SAR team added two units of heavy equipment as the weather conditions were more supportive on the seventh day of search operations for victims of landslides in Cisarua District, West Bandung Regency, West Java to facilitate search and evacuation.

Basarnas Operations Director Yudhi Bramantyo said weather factors had a significant impact on the smooth running of the search activities, especially in the main sectors that were the focus of the operation.

"We hope that today's weather will be more conducive so that the search can be carried out to the maximum. To support this, we also lowered two additional heavy equipment to speed up the evacuation process," he said.

He also said that Basarnas had added two units of heavy equipment, the PC 200 excavator, which would be deployed on the borders of sectors A2 and A3 to speed up the search and handling of the landslide impact according to the operation map.

Meanwhile, the SAR operation in Cisarua entered the seventh day since the landslide which occurred on Saturday (24/1) and had evacuated dozens of bodies of victims buried by landslide material.

Based on the latest data on Thursday (29/1) at 18.30 WIB, the Joint SAR until the end of the sixth day had evacuated 55 bags of bodies from the scene and about 25 others were still being searched.

The identification process by the DisasterVictim Identification (DVI) team of the West Java Police is also continuing, with 41 bags of bodies that have been successfully identified by the authorities.

The search area focuses on sectors that are indeed mapped as the highest area of landslide impact, while continuing to anticipate the possibility of subsequent landslides triggered by unstable soil conditions and extreme weather.

Personnel from various agencies, including Basarnas, TNI, Polri, BPBD and volunteers, alternately combed vulnerable points with the help of heavy equipment, tracking dogs, and other supporting technology.

Meanwhile, the number of residents who are still missing continues to be the focus of SAR search, with the victims' families and volunteers continuing to hope that the weather will be friendly to speed up work in the field.

Basarnas and the SAR team still ask for prayers and support from the community so that the operation, which has been running for more than a week, can provide the best results for the victims and families affected by the landslide disaster in Cisarua.