SAR Team Searches For Residents Buried By Landslides In Cianjur

The joint SAR team is trying to find residents on behalf of Nahru (65), a resident of Bojongsirna Village, Simpang Village, Pasirkuda District, Cianjur, West Java, who were reportedly buried by landslides as high as 50 meters while working on his rice fields.

Secretary of the Cianjur Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Rudi Wibowo, when contacted on Saturday, said that the landslide that occurred suddenly hit the residents' rice fields, even though there were no signs or rain before.

"The cliff as high as 150 meters of landslide caused dozens of hectares of rice fields to be buried, including Nahru, who was working on the rice fields at the bottom of the cliff, was immediately buried because he did not have time to save himself," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Saturday, July 29.

Several other farmers, had seen the victim's body immediately buried by a landslide and had tried to search but to no avail, so they reported the matter to the local authorities, followed by the Cianjur BPBD.

His party sent a team consisting of eight officers, assisted by PMI Cianjur, SAR Bandung, and TNI/Polri officers, to search for victims suspected of being buried as deep as 50 meters.

"Saturday afternoon joint officers are still searching because there are high landslides and the road to the location is quite difficult to pass, so the search cannot be carried out optimally," he said.

The secretary of Simpang Village, Sohibin, explained that his party first received a report from local residents regarding the landslide that occurred and hoarded a farmer who was working in a rice field, the victim's position was right in the middle so he did not have time to save himself.

"The victim did not manage to save himself because the location was right in the middle of an avalanche and was immediately buried by an avalanche that suddenly occurred without any rain or other signs before," said Sohibin.

Joint officers and residents are conducting a search using makeshift tools, the location where the victim was buried is estimated to be between two cliffs with an avalanche height of about 50 meters, making it difficult to search.

"Until Saturday afternoon there has been no sign of the victim's whereabouts, but the residents will continue to make maximum efforts with the joint SAR team," he said.