Remembering Again The Search For Eril Who Disappeared In Switzerland Until His Body Was Brought Back To Indonesia

Atalia Praratya, Ridwan Kamil's wife when receiving condolences for the passing of her eldest son Emmeril Kahn Mumtadz or Eril. (Public Relations of West Java)

JAKARTA - The drowning of Emmeril Kahn Mumtadz or Eril in the Aare River, City of Bern, Switzerland, Thursday, May 26, is undeniably the deep sorrow of the West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil's family, as well as the entire Indonesian people.

At the time of the incident, Ridwan Kamil's son was on a visit to Switzerland in order to find a master's degree school and scholarships for Eril and his sister, Camillia Laetitia Azzahra or Zara who will continue their undergraduate studies.

During this visit, Eril and Zara took the time to swim in the Aare river. Unexpectedly, a strong current hit the river.

Eril first tries to save Zara and a friend rises to the surface safely. Unfortunately, Eril was suddenly swept away and lost. At that time, the Swiss SAR team and related authorities immediately launched a search effort.

At the time of the incident, Ridwan Kamil was in England on government activities abroad with a delegation from the West Java Provincial Government. When he received the news that Eril had disappeared, Ridwan Kamil immediately flew to Switzerland and took time off to monitor directly.

The Swiss authorities' search was carried out starting from expanding the range of monitoring points, using a 3-meter depth detection sensor, monitoring floodgates, to fielding search dogs for bodies. In Indonesia, the National Police has also submitted a request for publication to Interpol.

 

While in Switzerland, Ridwan Kamil and his wife participated in monitoring the progress of Eril's search on the Aare River. With hope, the former mayor of Bandung often coordinates with the police in charge of conducting searches.

On Thursday, June 2, Ridwan Kamil decided to return to Indonesia because his leave period had expired. Before going home, Ridwan Kamil, his wife Atalia Praratya, and Zara took the time to sit on the bank of the Aare River as their way of saying goodbye to Eril.

"Ril… I'm going back to Indonesia first, okay? Mom's left you in the best care and protection from your true owner, Allah SWT, wherever you are… God willing, you won't be cold, hungry, or lacking anything. In fact, you will get an abundance of love, gifts, and never-ending happiness," wrote Atalia Praratya on her Instagram account on Thursday, June 2.

At that time, Ridwan Kamil and his family were willing to let Eril go. They firmly believe that Eril is dead. However, they still hope that Eril can be found. Search efforts are still being carried out and one of the family representatives is still directly monitoring.

After 14 days of searching, Eril's body was finally found on Wednesday, June 8 at around 06.50 am Swiss time. Eril's body was found by a woman at the Engehalde Water Dam, Bern. Ridwan Kamil immediately applied for leave on June 9 to pick up his eldest son's body.

After bathing Eril, Ridwan Kamil said that his son's body was still intact when it was found. Ridwan Kamil explained that the cold temperature of the Aare river made Eril's body still intact because it was half frozen. In addition, not many animals live in the river.

"The scientific explanation of why the body was intact, the Aare River which was as cold as a refrigerator and had less fauna kept the body half frozen, so that it remained completely intact even though it was on the riverbed for 14 days," he said on his Twitter account @ridwankamil, Friday, June 10.

Ridwan Kamil also revealed that after two days of his son's body being lifted to the ground from 14 days of searching the river, Eril's body was still intact and smelled good. Like a miracle, Ridwan Kamil is grateful for what he has experienced.

"And Masya Allah. Even though 14 days have passed, his body is still intact, not missing anything, with a neat face looking to the right and I testify, that Eril's body smells like eucalyptus leaves. It's a small miracle for which we are very grateful," said Ridwan Kamil.

Since Eril's body was found, the Indonesian Embassy in Bern immediately prepared for repatriation by issuing a death certificate. Eril's body will be flown in one flight (direct) brought by Ridwan Kamil and his family at 15.10 western Indonesia time from Zurich Airport and arrived at Soekarno-Hatta Airport on Sunday, June 12 at 15.45 western Indonesia time.

Furthermore, Eril's body will be brought to Bandung by land. Then, Eril's body will be buried on Monday, June 13 at the family-owned cemetery in Cimaung, Bandung.

Uploading a picture of the coffin and burial location for Eril on his Twitter account, Ridwan Kamil gave a touching message. "It's time for you to return to the land of prayer strings. To the land of the Guardians, one of whom is your ancestor," wrote Ridwan Kamil.