The head of the Bandung Search and Rescue (SAR) Office, Ade Dian, said on Sunday the team halted operations for the second day at 4:00 p.m. local time and would resume on Monday to search for an estimated 65 missing victims.
“We stopped the search at 4:00 p.m. due to heavy rain and will continue tomorrow. A total of 25 body bags have been handed over to the National Police’s Disaster Victim Identification team,” Dian said.
He said Sunday’s search focused on areas where victims had previously been detected, working closely with the joint SAR team and local residents to speed up evacuations.
“The bodies were found in sectors A and B, mostly in A1, A2 and B1, based on information from the field,” Dian said.
“We are concentrating on these two areas because many victims were located there, according to residents," he added.
The Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team has so far identified 11 bodies, including 10 intact bodies and one consisting of body parts, he said.
Dian said the operation had been hampered by a secondary landslide that forced a temporary halt to the search.
“A landslide occurred due to a crack in the crown of the slope, so the search was suspended for about 30 minutes. After field observations at 10:30 a.m., operations resumed at 11:00 a.m,” he said.
Unstable ground conditions and persistent rain remained major challenges for rescuers working in the area, he said.
Related news: Bad weather hampers search for 82 victims of West Bandung landslide
For Monday’s operations, Dian said the SAR team would expand search points into harder-to-reach areas and deploy additional detection equipment to accelerate the recovery and identification of victims.
“During the second day of the search, we deployed heavy equipment. Three more units will be added tomorrow, bringing the total to six,” he said.
He added that coordination with the DVI team would continue to ensure all recovered bodies were promptly identified and returned to their families.
“We remain focused on the existing obstacles, with weather being a crucial factor,” Dian said. “We will continue to evaluate locations as conditions change.”
The landslide struck Cisarua Sub-district earlier this week after days of heavy rainfall, burying homes and triggering a large-scale emergency response involving police, military personnel and volunteers.
Authorities have warned residents in nearby areas to remain vigilant, citing the risk of further landslides as rains are forecast to continue.
Related news: Ministry prioritizes safety of women, children after Cisarua landslide
Translator: Ilham Nugraha, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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