Jakarta. The family of West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil announced on Friday that the governor’s son Emmeril Kahn Mumtadz is now presumed dead after going missing at Switzerland’s Aare River for eight days.

Family members have been following the search and rescue attempts by local authorities since the day of the incident and both Ridwan and his wife now accept the unpleasant possibility that their 23-year-old son “might have been dead from drowning”,  Ridwan’s older brother Erwin Muniruzaman told a news conference in Bandung.

“All living creatures will finally die,” Erwin was quoted by the Kompas news website as saying.

Family members consulted with the Indonesian Ulema Council last night before performing an Islamic prayer to honor the deceased, he added.

Ridwan arrived from Switzerland on Thursday afternoon after inspecting the scene and gathering information about the search and rescue operations.

The Indonesian Embassy in Bern said Ridwan spent time walking along the bank of the Aare River on Wednesday.

Emmeril, or Eril, was missing while swimming with his sister and their friend on Aare, a popular water recreation spot in Bern, on May 26. 

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

However, search operations have been fruitless after eight days.