Bali Search and Rescue teams deployed on Tabanan Regency’s Mount Batukaru are entering their eleventh day of an intensive mission to locate a missing French teenager.
The 15-year-old tourist had been hiking on the mountain with his mother and two brothers when he is believed to have fallen into a ravine.
The 15-year-old boy, known by his initials ST, is believed to have been on vacation in Bali with his mother and brothers.
The family is not reported to have been accompanied by a guide on the hike, though they had hired a private driver who was waiting for them at the trailhead upon their return.
It was the driver, Ngurah Kusuma Putra, who called the police at around 10 pm on Sunday, 25th August, when the family did not arrive at the meeting point as planned.
The search period has been extended several times at the request of the French consulate, and it appears all available resources have been deployed to Mount Batukaru, including specially trained sniffer dogs and drones.
A search team consisting of the Bali Search and Rescue Officer, Tabanan Police, the Nature Lovers Forum volunteers, the local community, and the Tabanan Disaster Management Agency have been coordinating a mission over a huge swathe of the mountainside.
Late on Friday afternoon the search team found a trekking pole close to where ST was last seen, though it has not yet been confirmed if this belonged to him.
The search and rescue mission, which in usual circumstances would have come to a close after 7 days, has been ordered to continue indefinitely at the request of the French Consulate.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, 6th September, the Head of Tabanan BPBD I Nyoman Sri Nadha Giri, explained, “Yesterday the team conducted a search from Karyasari Village around Pura Anyar and Pura Njongkeling. The search was conducted at an altitude of approximately 1,644 meters above sea level and covered a distance of 10 kilometers.”
Though huge areas of the mountain have been searched, the rolling fog has made visibility difficult. Mount Batukaru is densely forested, and even the well-walked hiking trails are overgrown, with the terrain particularly treacherous from sea level to summit.
Giri revealed to reporters that there had been plans to bring ST’s older brother out on one of the search missions to call upon his eyewitness experience in real-time. However, he will no longer be available to the rescue teams.
Giri explained, “The plan was that the victim’s older brother was going to be invited to climb tomorrow (Friday). But he wanted to be sent home because he was at school. Well, the search team will be increasingly blind to the victim’s trail.”
Giri confirmed that the request from the French consulate for the search to be continued has been granted. He added, “Therefore, our team continues to stand by. The plan is that tomorrow the search will be carried out again from Karyasari.”
Giri confirmed that while sniffer dogs and search teams have been sourcing the terrain, heat-detecting drones have been flown over the mountainside.
Speaking with reporters, the Pupuan Police Chief AKP I Wayan Sudiarba also explained, “We have conducted a [air] search, but the results are the same. Hopefully, tomorrow, there will be a bright spot.”
Tourists planning visits to Indonesia’s volcanoes and mountains have been given stern warnings by the Chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency, Kusworo, in the last week.
He called out “reckless” tourists, both domestic and international, for flouting the rules put in place to keep them safe.
The kind of behavior referenced included not taking a local guide, hiking on volcanoes with active eruption alerts, and hiking without suitable equipment.
Mount Agung, Mount Batur, and Mount Batukaru are Bali’s most popular hiking peaks for tourists, and it is essential that climbers hire a local guide who has experience on that particular trail.
Local guides who run hikes on Mount Batur may not know the routes on Mount Batukaru, for example, and vice versa.
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Exp
Saturday 7th of September 2024
1. The 15-year-old tourist had been hiking on the mountain with his mother and two brothers. 2. Huge areas of the mountain have been searched. 3. The victim’s older brother was going to be invited to climb tomorrow (Friday). But he wanted to be sent home because he was at school
I'm sorry about this possible tragedy but this is a very odd story. The missing 15 years old is trekking with his family and still the search area is "huge" and secondly a brother refuses to assist locating him?
Exp
Monday 9th of September 2024
@Exp, I just quoted what gov. officials stated.
Regards the real @Exp
Exp
Sunday 8th of September 2024
Hello No sure this version is correct "The victim’s older brother was going to be invited to climb ... But he wanted to be sent home because he was at school". I understood the older brother did assist the rescue team, has showed them where he was his younger brother the last time; But indeed after then he unfortunately had to return back home for school. Not even sure the older brother who was quite psychologically chocked would have help ed if staying longer in this jungle with dense vegetation where every area look like the same. I feel also very sorry for this tragedy. I hope Mount Batukaru will bring back the boy.