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Island focus: Soldier missing after forest fire in Riau

Indonesian Military (TNI) soldier Pvt

The Jakarta Post
Pekanbaru
Tue, August 23, 2016

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Island focus: Soldier missing after forest fire in Riau

I

ndonesian Military (TNI) soldier Pvt. First Class Wahyudi remains missing four days after helping to extinguish a forest fire in the Riau regency of Rokan Hilir.

Wira Bima Military Command chief and Riau Land and Forest Fire Task Force commander Brig. Gen. Nurendi went to the location where Wahyudi went missing and led search efforts involving a joint team from the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), the TNI, the National Police and local residents.

“The search has not been fruitful yet. I have instructed the Wira Bima Military Command to hold a joint prayer at each unit pleading to Almighty God that Wahyudi will soon be found,” said Nurendi on Monday.

Apart from a conventional search, Nurendi said various methods to track Wahyudi’s whereabouts had been employed, including cell phone signal tracking technology and soothsayers, because locals believed Wahyudi had been hidden by spirits disturbed by the fires that hit the region.

Wahyudi went missing during a firefighting mission in Medan hamlet, Labuhan Tangga Besar village, Bangko district, on Friday.

At around 3 p.m. local time, Wahyudi and two of his colleagues were replacing a piece of fire-extinguishing equipment with a larger device. Wahyudi then returned to the forest to collect a small hose that had been left behind. He is believed to have become engulfed in thick smoke and to have lost his way back to his colleagues.

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