"Today, we found another victim," the Head of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), Mohammad Syafii, told reporters on Monday.
The joint SAR team recovered a female victim at around 2:00 p.m., upon receiving report from field search personnel. A male victim had been found a day earlier, bringing the total number of recovered victims to two.
However, Syafii said the victim’s identity has not yet been disclosed, as the National Police’s Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team will conduct the official identification process.
“Later, the confirmed identity will come from the DVI team. Initial information indicates that the first victim we found was male, and the second victim recovered is female,” he said.
The victim was discovered on the third day of the SAR operation on a cliff on Mount Bulusaraung, amid steep and rugged terrain, in a ravine approximately 500 meters below the summit.
“The terrain is very steep and rugged. The victim was found about 500 meters below the summit of Mount Bulusaraung. Determining the victim’s identity is not our responsibility. I can confirm that the evacuation process is currently underway,” Syafii said.
Previously, an ATR 42-500 aircraft operated by Indonesia Air Transport was reported to have lost contact in the Bulusaraung mountain area, on the border between Maros and Pangkep regencies, South Sulawesi, while attempting to land at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport on Saturday afternoon (January 17).
The aircraft was carrying 10 people: seven crew members and three passengers.
The passengers were employees of the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, identified as Ferry Irawan, Deden Mulyana, and Yoga Naufal.
The aircraft crew consisted of captain Andi Dahananto, co-pilot Muhammad Farhan Gunawan, and flight crew members Hariadi, Restu Adi, Dwi Murdiono, Florencia Lolita, and Esther Aprilita.
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Translator: M Darwin Fatir, Resinta S
Editor: M Razi Rahman
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