All 152 Mount Sumbing hikers safe as wildfire continues: police
Wonosobo, C Java (ANTARA) - All 152 hikers registered at a Mount Sumbing base camp in Indonesia's Central Java Province have safely descended as a forest and land fire continues to burn, Wonosobo police said.
Wonosobo Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Ricky Pripurna Atmaja confirmed the evacuation was conducted on Monday night (Oct 19) after a joint team received a report from Gajah Mungkur Base Camp in Lamuk Village, Kalikajar, at 11:30 p.m. local time.
"Alhamdulillah, all 152 hikers have descended. After checking the registration records, we confirmed none was left behind. Everyone is healthy, with no accidents or injuries," Atmaja said.
Wonosobo police and a joint team comprising search and rescue personnel, the regional disaster mitigation agency, Kalikajar Community Health Center, base camp managers, the Indonesian Red Cross, and other agencies prioritized hiker safety.
Authorities closed Mount Sumbing’s hiking routes through several base camps. They also coordinated with Temanggung Police and Magelang City Police because the climbing routes cross different jurisdictions, Atmaja said.
Related news: Joint forest fire-fighting team deployed on Mount Sumbing
The joint team established a central command post at Gajah Mungkur Base Camp to coordinate the response, monitor developments, and handle inquiries from hikers’ families.
To prepare for emergencies, the joint team and the regional disaster agency arranged evacuation measures and deployed 40 base camp rangers to escort hikers down from Post III.
The operation required extra time and effort because the trek from Post III to the base camp takes about six hours. Slippery trails also posed challenges for the teams.
Despite the challenges, the evacuation proceeded smoothly and all hikers reached safety, Atmaja added, reiterating that everyone had descended safely.
"All hikers are safe now. Our priority is to ensure their safety first. We have coordinated across jurisdictions and taken mitigation measures to prevent greater risks," he said.
The forest and land fire on Mount Sumbing remained uncontained, Atmaja said.
Authorities will continue coordinating with relevant agencies, including the Central Java Police, to seek additional support.
Related news: Bromo park tracks two severely burned responders as fire kills four
Translator: Heru S, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fransiska Ninditya
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