FAJAR.CO.ID, GORONTALO — The Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) deployed helicopters to evacuate landslide victims in the people’s gold mining area in East Suwawa, Bone Bolango Regency, Gorontalo. Difficulty in accessing the disaster location and the large number of victims were the main reasons for using helicopters.
Basarnas Chief Kusworo revealed that one helicopter belonging to the National Police had been used to evacuate victims.
“We are coordinating with the Indonesian Air Force to help add more helicopters,” said Kusworo, quoted from ANTARA, who was accompanied by Basarnas Operations Director Edy Prakoso at the main post of the joint SAR operation in East Tulabolo Village.
Kusworo emphasized that helicopters are needed to speed up evacuation, considering that land access from the post to the disaster location is tens of kilometers through hilly forests, requiring 4-5 hours on foot. The unstable ground conditions and continuous rain also slowed down the travel time of joint SAR personnel, especially at points that had to cross bridges.
A total of 1,009 joint team personnel were deployed in this SAR operation, including 30 people from the Basarnas Special Group team. Until now, data from the main post of the joint SAR operation in East Tulabolo Village recorded the number of landslide victims reaching 131 people. Of that number, 23 people were found dead, 73 people survived with minor and serious injuries, and 45 people are still missing and being searched for.
The dead and injured victims were evacuated to several hospitals in Bone Bolango and Gorontalo. As of Tuesday afternoon, 12 people were successfully evacuated using a police helicopter to receive medical treatment at the hospital and identification by the police DVI team in Gorontalo.
2024-07-09 15:59:00