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Jambi village chief found dead after drowning
There were no signs alluding to violence found on the victims' remains.
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An aerial picture shows houses inundated by the overflow of Batanghari River in Pelayangan district, Jambi. (Antara/Wahdi Septiawan)
T
he acting head of Teratai village in Batanghari regency, Jambi and his brother-in-law drowned in the Batanghari River on Sunday evening.
The bodies of village chief Maheli, 35, and Dimas, 25, were discovered on Tuesday after two days. They crossed the river by small boat.
Batanghari Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD Batanghari) chief Nazhar said Dimas was found at 12:39 a.m. and Maheli at 4:09 a.m.
Dimas was found 300 meters from where they were last seen, while Maheli was found across the river, 1.5 kilometers away from their last seen point.
"The two victims were buried at Teratai Cemetery at around 10 a.m.," Nazhar added.
He said both victims may have fallen into the river as there were no signs alluding to violence found on the victims' remains.
He added that according to witnesses' accounts, the victims were last seen on a boat crossing the river. The boat was filled with palm fruit bunches and grass, a common sight in the village as many residents were owners of small-scale oil palm plantations.
The two were seen joking around on the boat around maghrib (sunset prayer) time, when many were breaking their fast. The boat started to sink and both victims started to drown.
The river's strong currents made the search difficult. The Jambi Search and Rescue Agency conducted the search with the help of locals.
"We hope residents remain careful when on boats," Nazhar said. (ars)
