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View all search resultsThree dead after landslides strike North Sumatra highway
Sri Wahyuni Pancasilawati, head of emergency response, equipment and logistics at the North Sumatra Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), said extreme weather has battered parts of the province over the past two weeks, triggering a series of hydrometeorological disasters.
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A motorist passes a section of the North Jatigede Ring Road on Feb. 13, 2026, that was hit by a landslide, in Sumedang, West Java. The landslide, triggered by heavy rain that hit Sumedang in February, caused the temporary closure of the route connecting Sumedang and Majalengka regencies. (Antara/Raisan Al Farisi)
T
hree people were killed after torrential rain triggered a landslide along the Trans-Sumatra Highway in North Tapanuli regency, North Sumatra, on Tuesday afternoon, burying a pickup truck and a teenager who was trying to rescue victims trapped in the debris.
North Tapanuli Police spokesperson First Adj. Walpon Bringing said the victims’ bodies have been recovered and returned to their families for burial.
“The three victims are 34-year-old Boi Nasution and 38-year-old Diba Hasibuan, both from South Labuhanbatu regency, and a 14-year-old identified only as DS,” he said on Wednesday.
Walpon said the incident occurred around 4:30 p.m. when a pickup truck loaded with vegetables was traveling along the Tarutung–Sipirok section of the highway amid heavy rainfall. Without warning, a section of the roadside embankment collapsed, hitting the vehicle and dragging it into the river beneath the road.
The pickup carried three people: two passengers, Boi and Diba, and the driver, Fajar Amri. Fajar managed to escape the vehicle despite sustaining serious injuries, while the two passengers were killed after being trapped inside the wreckage following the landslide.
The third victim, DS, was not inside the vehicle but was passing through the area at the time of the landslide. He entered the river in an attempt to help evacuate the trapped Boi and Diba. However, a second landslide occurred shortly afterward, burying him along with the wrecked vehicle under debris.
“DS intended to help, but he was caught in a follow-up landslide and became a victim himself,” Walpon said.
