Search and Rescue Teams Recover One Body, Bringing the Death Toll from the Banjarnegara Landslide to Three

BANJARNEGARA, KOMPAS - The number of fatalities due to the landslide disaster in Situkung Hamlet, Pandanarum Village, Pandanarum District, Banjarnegara Regency, Central Java, has increased. This addition occurred after the SAR team discovered and evacuated one body of a landslide victim on Wednesday (19/11/2025) at 13:09 WIB.

"Indeed, there have been discoveries of victims, but the evacuation process is still ongoing. The victims are from site A2 (Sector A part 2)," said the Coordinator of Information Management at the Semarang Search and Rescue Office, Heri Sunandar, on Wednesday, at the command post in Pandanarum District.

The family believes that Dangseng's last position was inside the collapsed house. During the search and rescue operation on Wednesday starting at 06:00 WIB, Dangseng's family urged the SAR team to excavate the debris, which they believed to be the location of the victim. This belief was proven to be correct.

The bodies of the victims are currently being evacuated to be taken to the Hj Anna Lasmanah Regional General Hospital in Banjarnegara. Identification and data matching of the victims will be carried out by the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team of the Central Java Regional Police.

"The DVI team of the Central Java Police has been on standby since the first day the landslide disaster occurred," said Banjarnegara Police Chief, Commissioner Mariska Vendi Susanto.

Previously reported, the landslide disaster struck the residential area of Dusun Situkung on Sunday (16/11/2025) at 15:30 WIB. The landslide material originated from the collapse of a hill to the north, which the residents named Bukit Guntur.

The peak or crown of the hill collapsed and caused damage to an area of 10-11 hectares with a landslide spanning more than 1 kilometer.

As of Wednesday afternoon, there have been three fatalities due to the landslide disaster. Additionally, 25 individuals are still missing. A total of 931 residents have been evacuated. They are taking refuge in 68 evacuation sites, which include buildings, offices, halls, sports facilities, and private homes.

In addition to the search operation for victims, the government is also beginning to consider temporary and permanent housing for the refugees. "We are preparing land for temporary and permanent housing," said the Commander of the Pandanarum Landslide Emergency Response, Lieutenant Colonel (CZI) Teguh Prasetyanto.

Teguh stated that the land prepared spans 2-3 hectares and is located in the area of Pandanarum Village. The land is adjacent to the relatively flat Pandanarum Village Field. The location of the land is quite far from Situkung Hamlet.

"Construction of temporary housing is underway during the emergency response period," said Teguh, who is also the Commander of the 0704/Banjarnegara Military District Command.

We prepare land for temporary housing and permanent housing

The construction of the temporary housing is expected to be completed by a maximum of November 29, 2025, which coincides with the end of the emergency response period set by the Regent of Banjarnegara, Amalia Desiana.

In the future, the temporary housing that has been constructed will gradually be developed into permanent housing. Residents who must permanently relocate to a new site are those from RT 2, 3, and 4 in RW 03 Dusun Situkung, which has been almost entirely devastated by landslides.

However, the team also conducted an assessment for the affected communities in the surrounding hamlets and had to be relocated as a mitigation effort.