The body of First Private Ferdian was found on Sunday (January 29) at around 6:30 pm local time and was moved to Iwur Post, as reported by Commander of Infantry Battalion 143/TWEJ, Lieutenant Colonel Ari Iswoyo Timur.
"First Private Ferdian's body was found by the community at around 6:30 pm local time but could only be evacuated and taken to Iwur Post at around 11:30 pm due to the strong river currents and limited equipment," he remarked on Monday.
On Monday, he said, Ferdian's body will be transported aboard a helicopter to Setani Airport, Jayapura District, to Semarang, Central Java, to be buried in his hometown in Klaten.
"Hopefully, the evacuation process goes smoothly," Timur remarked while expressing hope that the whereabouts of Pegunungan Bintang Police's three members that are still missing and who had also plunged into the Digul River would be found soon.
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The accident occurred on Saturday when the tree that was tied to the bridge rope fell down, causing four TNI and Polri personnel, who had just stepped on the suspension bridge, to fall into the river.
Meanwhile, the search for three Pegunungan Bintang Police personnel is still ongoing as of Monday, supported by the surrounding community, Lt. Col. Timur remarked.
Meanwhile, Pegunungan Bintang Police Chief adjunct senior commissioner Dafi Bustomi said that he was accompanying Lt. Col. Timur to visit Iwur to review the post and to interact with the people there.
To reach Iwur, they had to cross Digul River by a suspension bridge, but four personnel who walked behind fell into the fast flowing river, as the tree where the bridge rope was knotted to had fell down.
Search is still underway for Pegunungan Bintang Police's three personnel: First Police Brigadier Yohanes Matteus, Second Police Brigadier Risman Rahman, and Second Police Brigadier Stafanus Randongkir.
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Translator: Evarukdijati, Kenzu
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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