F

ive days after the Situ Gintung dam disaster, a search and rescue team comprised of nearly 800 volunteers began to focus its efforts on removing debris from buildings in hopes of finding more missing bodies.

"We have combed the Pesanggrahan river until its upstream at the Jakarta bay in the past four days but no more bodies were found along the river," Rahmat Sahlan, coordinator of the teams, said on Wednesday.

He said some members would continue to comb several small tributaries of the Pesanggrahan River.

Wednesday afternoon saw the 100 body uncovered. The number of the missing people has reportedly declined.

Survivor Iwan Wibawa, 27, is the only survivor of his eight member family. His younger brother is still missing.

On Wednesday, Din Syamsudin, said the Muhammadiyah Muslim organization, of which he is chairman, would cover the cost of education for students who are victims of the disaster.

So far, there has been no official explanation as to how the disaster happened. While officials and politicians play the blame game, experts have offered some insights, saying that the development of housing complexes around Lake Situ Gintung beginning the 1980s fundamentally damaged the soil structure, leading to the collapse of the embankment.

"I believe that most of the housing and other buildings near the lake are not covered by building permits," Yayat Supriatna, an urban planning expert from Trisakti University, said.

Article 10 of Public Works Ministry Regulation No. 63/1993 states that no permanent buildings may be constructed within 50 meters of a lake. Yayat said the Banten provincial and South Tangerang administrations seemed to have ignored the regulation.

Selamet Daroyni, executive director of the Jakarta branch of Indonesia Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said that a 50 meter buffer zone is needed to preserve the natural ecological function of a lake, including supporting swamps and rice fields.

Jeje, 53, has been living in Cireundeu since he was born. He says Cireundeu Permai was the first residential estate built near the lake but was soon followed by the Pratama Hill residential estate, the University of Indonesia's faculty housing complex, the International Sports Club of Indonesia (ISCI) and the University of Muhammadiyah Jakarta.

Pitoyo Subandrio, head of the Ciliwung-Cisadane Flood Bureau at the Public Works Ministry, denied that the government has been ignoring the lake. "We spent Rp 1.5 bilion (US$ 125,000) last year to dredge the lake and inspect the dam," he said.

However, local residents claimed the government only sent in two backhoes for the dredging. "The dam was untouched," Cireundeu resident Jahlul Amri said.