Head of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) Mohammad Syafii said in Bandung on Friday that the team recovered five body bags during the day’s operation, as weather conditions were relatively favorable for the search.
“Based on the seventh-day evaluation, 20 victims are still reported missing, and the search will continue. The weather from morning to afternoon was very supportive for our operation, and we recovered five body bags,” Syafii said.
He explained that the total number of victims recovered from the first to the seventh day of the operation has reached 60.
Meanwhile, data from the National Police’s Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team shows that 44 bodies have been identified and handed over to their families.
Syafii noted that the number of victims has continued to change as the search and field assessments proceed, based on evaluations conducted by the Search Management Cell (SMC), the Incident Commander (IC), and the police’s DVI team.
“Initial reports stated that 113 people from 34 families were affected. However, the latest developments show that 158 residents from 35 families were reported missing. These data changes are part of the operational process in the field,” he explained.
Despite challenges such as difficult terrain and unstable weather conditions throughout the week, Syafii said the SAR operation has continued optimally with the involvement of multiple agencies.
The operation is being carried out 24 hours a day and is supported by weather modification efforts conducted by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) to reduce rainfall in the search area.
“The terrain and weather conditions are not yet fully ideal, but an emergency response has been declared for 14 days, and we hope all victims can be found before that period ends,”Syafii said.
“We will continue the search and rescue operation as long as there is hope of finding the victims. We ask for prayers so that the entire process runs safely and smoothly,” he concluded.
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Translator: Ilham Nugraha, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: M Razi Rahman
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