12-year-old Boy Lost In Kuningan Citaal River Found Lifeless

The Cirebon SAR team while carrying out a search for drowning victims in the Citax River in Kuningan Regency, West Java, Monday (17/3/2025). (ANTARA/HO-SAR Cirebon)

The Cirebon SAR Team found a boy named Aska (12) who was reported missing after drowning in the Cital River, Kuningan Regency, West Java, on Sunday, March 16.

"Today (Monday 17 March) the victim was found dead at around 09.45 WIB, after two days of searching," said the Cirebon SAR Post Rescue Team Commander Syarief in Kuningan, Monday, March 17, as reported by Antara.

He conveyed that the Bandung SAR Office immediately deployed a rescue team from the Cirebon SAR Post to conduct a search, after receiving reports related to the incident.

"The victim was declared missing since Sunday (March 16) at around 10.50 WIB while swimming in the river with his friends. It is suspected that the victim was dragged by the current until it finally sank," he said.

He explained that the joint team involved in the search consisted of various elements, including the Cirebon SAR Post, BPBD, TNI, Polri, and the local community.

For two days, he said, the team conducted sweeps along the river and dives at points suspected of being the location of the drowning victim.

Syarief said the search was carried out using the dive method and river surface monitoring using rubber boats.

He said after a team of divers conducted a search around the scene, the victim was found at a certain depth within a radius of about 10 meters from the last point seen by the witness.

The victim was immediately evacuated and taken to the funeral home to be handed over to the family. We officially ended the search operation. All elements involved then returned to their respective units," he said.

Syarief appealed to the public to be more careful when doing activities in rivers, especially during the rainy season, which can increase the risk of heavy currents.

"We invite the public to be more vigilant and understand the dangers of playing in the river so that similar incidents do not happen again," he said.