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Families of Ponorogo landslide victims want extension of search operation
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Humanitarian mission: Search and Rescue Agency officers, together with the police and military personnel, help local residents in Ponorogo, East Java, to evacuate their belongings earlier this week. (JP/Wahyoe Boediwardhana)
F
amilies of 25 people reportedly buried during landslides that hit Banaran, a village in Banaran, Ponorogo, East Java, last Saturday, want the joint search and rescue team to continue their search efforts until all of those still reported missing are found.
“We should not stop the operation until they are all found,” said Banaran village chief Sarnu as quoted by Antara on Friday.
Some of the family members said they were hoping that the victims could be immediately found with the help of a joint Search and Rescue (SAR) team deployed on Sunday.
After several days of searching through rough terrain and thick mud, residents began to worry, especially toward the end of the search period, which was set for seven days, according to the SAR team and the Ponorogo Disaster Mitigation Agency.
Sarnu said during the week-long search operation, the evacuation team was not able to explore all areas affected by the landslide. He said the terrain was difficult, so one week was not enough.
“The terrain was difficult. There are three sectors, namely A, B, and C, suspected to be the location where the victims were buried. It is also possible they were buried in Sector D, where there is an open path. All of those sectors have not yet been [fully] explored."
Meanwhile, Ponorogo regent Ipong Muchlissoni said, “We have set a seven-day search period to locate the missing persons and 14 days for the emergency response.” The evacuation process would not be stopped if until the seventh day of operation, there was still no information on the victims’ whereabouts. (dis/ebf)
