“The Cianjur district government had requested an additional three days for the search process. Hopefully, the weather would be friendly and the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) would be able to find 12 missing residents," he said while issuing a press statement at the Cianjur District Office Hall on Wednesday.
The decision to extend the search was taken since 12 missing residents have yet to be found.
Suherman said that he has signed the request letter to extend the search for the missing persons.
"I have signed it, (to extend the search) from December 1 to 3 (2022). But if we are able to find 12 people tomorrow, the extension will be stopped," he informed.
According to Basarnas, the search process would have ended on Wednesday (November 30), he said. However, seeing the conditions on the field, the residents are still hoping that the victims would be found.
Related news: Rescuers continue to search for 14 missing quake victims
Earlier, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) had advised Suherman to extend the search until Saturday.
"This means that the district head caters to the people's needs. We hope the missing residents can be found but, of course, the searching will have a limit. Our suggestion is two weeks after the incident or on Saturday," BNPB head Lieutenant General Suharyanto said.
The advice followed an increase in the number of missing persons from 5 to 13.
Suharyanto said that if within two weeks the missing residents cannot be found, he hoped the families would be able to accept it.
"If they cannot be found anymore, I hope the families will accept the fate," he added.
Earlier, two village heads, namely the head of Cijedil village and the head of Mangunkerta village had reported that 8 of their residents were missing. The report was submitted on the ninth day of the search for earthquake victims in Cianjur district.
On November 21, a 5.6-magnitude earthquake shook Cianjur district, West Java, at 1:21 p.m. local time. It was centered 10 kilometers (km) southwest of the district at a depth of 10 km, with no potential to trigger a tsunami.
According to the BNPB, as of Tuesday (November 29), the earthquake had claimed 327 lives and caused 108,720 residents to flee their homes.
Related news: Cianjur quake: 17 bodies found, number of dead rises to 310
Related news: Joint SAR Team searches for nine missing after Cianjur quake
Translator: Ajat Sudrajat, Resinta S
Editor: Suharto
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