TEMANGGUNG, KOMPAS – A National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) helicopter on a mission to monitor local conditions following the eruption of the Sileri Crater on the Dieng Plateau crashed into Mount Butak in Canggal village, Temanggung regency, Central Java, on Sunday (2/7/2017) at 4:17 p.m.
Three of the helicopter’s nine passengers were found dead. The evacuation of the victims has been hindered by thick fog, rain and the steep terrain and will continue this morning.
The Dauphin AS 365 helicopter made in 2015 was carrying five crew members and four Basarnas members. It took off from Semarang’s Ahmad Yani Airport after refueling at 4 p.m. Seventeen minutes later, Basarnas detected the helicopter’s distress signal on a mountain slope in Canggal village, Temanggung.
Based on data collected by the Central Java Basarnas, the nine passengers comprised four rescuers – Muhammad Affandi, Nyoto Purwanto, Budi Resti and Catur – and five crew members – Capt. Haryanto (pilot), Capt. Li Solihin (copilot), Chief Sgt. Hari Marsono, Chief Warrant Officer Budi Santoso and Yoga Febrianto. By 9 p.m., three bodies had been found, of which the identities were unclear.
Edi, 45, an eyewitness from Canggal village, said the incident occurred at around 4:15 p.m. “I saw a helicopter flying low, just around 25 meters from the ground,” he said.
A moment later, he heard two loud explosions. Farmers working their fields were heard shouting “Crash, crash.”
At the time of the incident, fog was thick. The topography in Canggal is also hilly. The area is located on the slopes of Mt. Sindoro.
At around 10 p.m., a number of ambulances entered the alleyways of the village to receive the victims.
Before boarding the helicopter, Basarnas Central Java spokesman Maulana Affandi said the helicopter would be used in monitoring the Sileri Crater in Dieng, which erupted on Sunday noon.
The head of the Central Java Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), Sarwa Pramana, said he could not ascertain whether the helicopter had crashed in a local danger zone. The BPBD has deployed 45 personnel from Temanggung, Wonosobo, Banjarnegara, Boyolali, Magelang and Kendal.
Sileri Crater eruption
After erupting on Sunday at 11:54 a.m., the Sileri Crater in Kepakisan village, Batur district, Banjarnegara regency, was closed to the public. Seventeen people sustained injuries during the eruption.
The Sileri Crater spewed mud and a 50-meter column of smoke. Mud was thrown as high as 160 meters into the air.
Banjarnegara BPBD head Arif Rahman said the Sileri Crater had erupted three times this year. The previous two eruptions occurred in April and May. The Sileri Crater has been closed to the public in case of further eruptions.
Those injured in the eruption are receiving treatment at a local community health center (Puskesmas) in Batur Dieng. Most of them suffered bruised arms and heads while running away from the eruption. Some of them suffered broken bones. No fatalities were reported.
The BPBD and local tourism area management body, Arif said, had established a 100-meter radius danger zone around the crater and put up warning signs. “The injured tourists were standing just 50 meters from the crater. We always give warnings, but visitors want to get closer to the crater,” Arif said.
The viewing posts have been cordoned off, as have trails leading to the crater and to the D’Qiano hot springs, located just 100 meters from the crater.
Kepakisan village head Khamid Sobar said locals were worried that the spewed gases were poisonous like in the Timbang Crater in Sumberejo village. The Timbang and Sileri craters are located within 7.5 kilometers of each other.
The Volcanology and Geology Disaster Mitigation Agency\'s head of the Dieng Volcano Monitoring Post, Surip, said the phreatic eruption of Sileri Crater occurred as a result of a rise in the crater’s temperature. The temperature had been increasing for the past two weeks. “It is normally 60 degrees Celsius but it is now 70 to 73 degrees Celsius. There was no increase in earth tremors. Pressure came from the magma pockets,” he said.
Volcano observer Surono said he hoped that the incident would serve as a wake-up call for tourist management bodies in volcanic areas. Recommendations do not mean obstructing travelers from enjoying local sceneries but are made to ensure safety.