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Two die in rafting accident in Banjarnegara
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The victims were a 54-year-old teacher and a 25-year-old guide. (Shutterstock/File)
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teacher and a local guide died in a rafting accident in the Serayu River in Banjarnegara regency, Central Java, after being carried away by the strong current on Sunday.
The victims are 54-year-old Kohar Mutalim, a teacher at State Junior High School 2 (SMPN) 2 Kroya, Cilacap ,and a guide named Ahmad Prihartoro, 25, from Banjarnegara.
A group of 50 teachers and employees of the school were traveling to Banjarnegara and went rafting in the river. The incident took place after one of the rubber boats capsized when passing a whirlpool in the river, said Banjarnegara Disaster Mitigation Agency head (BPBD) Arif Rachman.
He said local tour groups often went rafting in the river.
“This is a tragedy. This is the first time such an accident happened here,” Arif said on Monday.
The school’s group went rafting and were spread among nine inflatable boats at 11 a.m. on Sunday. The ill-fated boat was the last one, comprising of six visitors and the guide. Besides the nine boats, there was also a rescue boat consisting of four people tailing the group.
However, as the last boat passed the eastern part of the Singomerto Bridge, the boat capsized and all of the passengers fell into the water. The rescue team managed to help save five people, but the two victims were carried away by the strong current.
The two bodies were later found by a search and rescue team in a nearby village's waterway and on the Serayu riverbank.
One person in Pemalang in Kebanggan village, Moga district, also died in a rafting accident last month. (rin)
