TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Six fatalities from Palu liquefaction found after eight months
Of the six bodies, only two were recognizable by the victims' families. The two were identified as Ripka Samperurusura and a 9-month-old baby named Nataniel.
Change Size
People search for their home in the Petobo area of Palu, Central Sulawesi, where entire hamlets were swallowed by the ground or carried away by streams of sludge that surfaced after an earthquake triggered soil liquefaction. (The Jakarta Post/Dhoni Setiawan)
A
rescue team from the Palu Fire Fighter Agency found six bodies buried under the ground in Petobo subdistrict in South Palu, Central Sulawesi, on Sunday. The bodies have been identified as victims of the liquefaction disaster that struck the area eight months ago.
The head of the Palu Fire Fighter Agency, Sudaryano Lamangkona, told The Jakarta Post on Monday that his men recovered the bodies after a scavenger, who had been looking for things he could sell, reported to a nearby subdistrict office that he had seen objects resembling a human skull and a pair of pants.
Members of the subdistrict office staff then checked the location indicated by the scavenger and afterwards contacted the police and Palu Fire Fighter Agency's rescue team. The team soon recovered the first three bodies.
Afterwards, the team deployed heavy machinery to excavate more soil and recovered another three bodies.
Sudaryano said objects around the bodies helped identify two of the victims.
“It was proven by the evidence, such as cellphones, clothes and rings worn by the victims, as well as by seeing the CCTV recording before the disaster happened,” he said.
Of the six bodies, only two were recognizable by the victims' families. The two were identified as Ripka Samperurusura and a 9-month-old baby named Nataniel.
