After concluding assessment of the area at 0:06 am Central Indonesian Time (UTC+8), the team decided to continue the SAR efforts at 6 a.m. since it is not possible to conduct search at midnight, and we need to cross three river streams to reach themKendari, Southeast Sulawesi (ANTARA) - Southeast Sulawesi's Kendari Search and Rescue (SAR) team continued efforts to evacuate a nature enthusiast group's 30 students trapped on Mount Amonggedo, Konawe, after raising the national flag to commemorate Indonesia's 76th independence anniversary.
The rescue team from the Kendari SAR Office is stationed at the Amonggedo district head's residence to coordinate with personnel involved in the SAR efforts, Kendari SAR Agency Head Aris Sofingi stated in a press release from the office.
"After concluding assessment of the area at 0:06 am Central Indonesian Time (UTC+8), the team decided to continue the SAR efforts at 6 a.m. since it is not possible to conduct search at midnight, and we need to cross three river streams to reach them," Sofingi explained.
The SAR team’s personnel assigned to rescue the 30 nature enthusiasts will be segregated into three groups, with the first team comprising 20 people, while the second and the third team both contain 10 people, he confirmed.
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Apart from the local SAR team, the evacuation process will be supported by the Wawotobi Subdistrict Military Command, Pondidaha District Police, Konawe Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency, nature enthusiasts from KPA Kompas Pencinta Alam Sampara, and local residents, according to Sofingi.
"The joint SAR team is currently stationed at a local dam," he noted.
Earlier, some 30 students of a nature enthusiast group failed to return to their base after raising the national flag to commemorate the 76th anniversary of Indonesia’s independence on Mount Amonggedo, Ulu Benua Village, Amonggedo Sub-district, Konawe District.
The students reportedly arrived at the decided location on August 16 and held the flag-raising ceremony there on August 17. After concluding the ceremony, they got stranded while attempting to return following torrential rains that caused nearby rivers to overflow and the volume of water to increase.
On receiving information about the stranded students from the local disaster mitigation board at 10 p.m. local time, the Kendari SAR team immediately dispatched members to the village to commence the operation.
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Translator: M Harianto, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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