Friday, September 29, 2023

Search for W. Java Gov's Missing Son Enters 4th Day

Jakarta Globe
May 29, 2022 | 12:56 pm
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West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil, second right, his wife Attalia, right, and the Indonesian Ambassador for Switzerland Muliaman Hadad discuss with local authorities in Bern on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of the Indonesian Embassy in Bern)
West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil, second right, his wife Attalia, right, and the Indonesian Ambassador for Switzerland Muliaman Hadad discuss with local authorities in Bern on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of the Indonesian Embassy in Bern)

Jakarta. The search and rescue team led by the Bern Maritime Police has begun the search for West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil's eldest son, Emmeril Kahn Mumtadz, 23, for the fourth day on Sunday, the Indonesian Embassy in Bern, Switzerland said. 

Emmeril, or Eril, was missing while swimming with his sister and their friend on river Aare, a popular water recreation spot in Bern, on Thursday morning. 

The embassy said the SAR team would focus on the area between Schwellenmaetelli and Engehalde, the two floodgates closest to the location where Eril was last seen.  

The embassy said the team would use boats and sensors capable of detecting items underwater down to three meters deep.

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Ridwan Kamil and his wife, Atalia Praratya, met with the Chief of Maritime Police Urs Käller and the Regional Police Chief Thomas Müller to hear the latest information regarding the search process. 

On the third day of searching, the SAR team was still unable to find Eril despite having deployed divers at several access points along the Aare river and flew low-flying surveillance drones along the riverbanks.

Indonesian Ambassador to Switzerland, Muliaman Hadad, said that based on the SAR team's decade-long experience, 99.9 percent of people missing in the Aare River, Switzerland were found within three weeks.

"[T]he majority of similar incidents in previous years that 99.9 percent were found in three weeks," Muliaman Hadad said in an online press conference, Saturday 

However, Muliaman also said that most people missing in the river are usually found in the first three days. "The first three days are usually found, but the majority are three weeks," he said.

The Indonesian Embassy received news of the Eril disappearance on Thursday at 11.24 local time. The search effort by the SAR team involved elements of the Police, Maritime Police, and firefighters as drone pilots.

On the second day, Friday, the SAR team expanded the search area range to include around 17 kilometers of the river length, from the Tiefenau Bridge to the Wohlensee floodgate.

Fortitude

According to Elpi Nazmuzaman, Ridwan's younger brother and the spokesperson for the family, the West Java governor still kept his fortitude during this time. 

"[Ridwan] is still healthy, patient, and shows fortitude during this tribulation," Elpi said on Saturday. 

"He is also sending his regard and apologizing to the friends here for being unable to speak right now. Please pray for us," Elpi told reporters.  

The Kamil family tragedy has gripped Indonesia, with many expressing their sympathy and hopes on social media.

One wrote on Twitter: "[S]ending out my biggest prayer to Kang Emil's family and hoping Eril to be found quickly and safely," referring to the governor with a Sundanese customary title, which means the oldest brother. 

Another wrote: "Dear Eril, wherever you are, I hope you're safe and well. I keep sending my prayers for you, and I'm sure the others too. Still waiting for good news tho. God, please protect him."

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