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7 hikers found alive after massive SAR mission
Seven young hikers who had been reported missing on Mount Lawu were finally found alive on Wednesday after a joint search and rescue (SAR) team involving around 100 personnel and volunteers was deployed to scour the mountain, which is located on the southern border of East Java and Central Java provinces
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even young hikers who had been reported missing on Mount Lawu were finally found alive on Wednesday after a joint search and rescue (SAR) team involving around 100 personnel and volunteers was deployed to scour the mountain, which is located on the southern border of East Java and Central Java provinces.
The seven hikers have been identified as siblings Refi, 18, Sasi, 11, and Abdul, 9, of Surakarta, Central Java, Maya Mega Pratiwi, 18, an industrial engineering student at the Surakarta-based Sebelas Maret University (UNS), Rizal, 18, of Karanganyar, Central Java, and 18-year-olds Guruh Putra and Gabriel of Surakarta.
They scaled to the mountain's summit through the Cemoro Kandang hiking post in Karanganyar on Saturday at around 8 a.m. local time. The hikers were initially reported missing on Tuesday by Inal, the father of Abdul, Sasi and Refi. Before reporting them as missing to the hiking post, Inal tried to search for his children along the route to the summit, but he only reached the fourth post due to exhaustion.
'The hikers should have descended by Sunday afternoon, but had yet to appear as of Tuesday evening,' Karanganyar Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Nugroho said.
On Wednesday morning, a joint search and rescue team involving personnel from the Semarang chapter of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), members of local nature lovers' groups and volunteers were deployed to scour the six hiking routes to the mountain's summit. The massive search and rescue mission finally managed to locate the missing hikers several hours later.
'The hikers were found at around 4:30 p.m. in Sendang Drajat, located one kilometer from the mountain's summit. They are safe and healthy,' Basarnas' Semarang chapter head Agus Haryono said.
The hikers later came down through the Cemorosewu post in Magetan, East Java, the shortest path to the foot of the mountain Agus said.
Rizal's mother, Naniwati, who was waiting at the Cemoro Kandang command post for the latest development, could not restrain her relief after their discovery. She said she had been worried about the safety of her son as he had not brought enough food for the hike.
'I feel so happy and relieved,' she said.
At 3,265 meters above sea level, temperatures at the Mt. Lawu summit can drop to freezing.
Agus said the climb should have been carried out within 24 hours, after which the hikers should have immediately descended.
'They have been on top of the mountain for five days as of Wednesday despite the extreme weather at the summit. It could have been fatal if their hiking gear and supplies were inadequate,' he said.
