Indonesian rescuers focus on landslide as quake toll rises
Cianjur (AP): On the fourth day of an increasingly urgent search, Indonesian rescuers narrowed their work on Thursday to a landslide where dozens are believed trapped after an earthquake that killed at least 271 people, more than a third of them children.
Many of the more than 1,000 rescue personnel are using backhoe loaders, sniffer dogs and life detectors, as well as jackhammers and bare hands to speed up the search in the worst-hit area of Cijendil village, where a landslide, set off by Monday's quake, left tons of debris including mud, rocks and trees.
Around 40 victims are believed still stuck in the soil and rubble of collapsed buildings in Cugenang sub-district.
Rescuers are also working on other impacted areas to make sure there are no more victims that need to be evacuated, said Henri Alfiandi, chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency.
"We hope all victims can be found soon," Alfiandi said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, searchers rescued a 6-year-old boy who was trapped for two days under the rubble of his collapsed house.
More than 2,000 people were injured in the quake that displaced at least 61,000 people to evacuation centers and other shelters after at least 56,000 houses were damaged. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency has said 171 public facilities were destroyed, including 31 schools.
Suharyanto, chief of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said 100 of the 271 confirmed deaths were children.
Rescue efforts had been suspended temporarily on Wednesday as heavy monsoon rains fell.
The 5.6 magnitude of Monday's earthquake would not typically be expected to cause serious damage.
But the quake was shallow and shook a densely populated area that lacks earthquake-resistant infrastructure. Weak aftershocks continued until Thursday morning.
More than 2.5 million people live in mountainous Cianjur district, including about 175,000 in its main town, which has the same name.
President Joko Widodo visited Cianjur on Tuesday and pledged to rebuild its infrastructure and provide assistance of up to 50 million rupiah (USD 3,180) to each resident whose house was damaged.
Indonesia is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin known as the "Ring of Fire."
VIDEO: Rescuers in the town of Cianjur, near the epicentre of a 5.6 magnitude quake in Indonesia, search for survivors in the rubble left after the country's deadliest tremors since 2018. pic.twitter.com/UgzQEjjWON
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) November 23, 2022
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Airlines got 999 hoax bomb threats till Nov 14 this year; 256 FIRs filed: Govt
New Delhi, Nov 28: Airlines received 999 hoax bomb threats this year till November 14 and as many as 256 FIRs have been filed while guidelines have been issued by aviation security regulator BCAS for objective assessment of threats, the government said on Thursday.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said a total of 1,148 hoax bomb threat messages/calls have been received since August 2022 till November 14, 2024 threatening the operations of international and domestic air travel.
While 999 threats were received by airlines during the period from January to November 14, 2024, the count stood at 122 last year and at 27 for the August-December 2022 period.
"256 FIRs have been filed since January 2024 till 14 November 2024, out of which 163 FIRs have been filed during 14 October- 14 November 2024. 12 arrests have been made in view of hoax bomb threat since January 2024 till 14 November 2024," the minister said.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has issued guidelines for objective assessment of threats. The indicative factor has been useful in reducing time taken by the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) during the decision-making process.
"Also, to reduce the overall time taken for convening BTAC to less than 5 minutes, virtual assembly of BTAC through pre-generated video link has been set up. Further, advisories for compulsory 10 per cent of secondary ladder point check-in for all flights, strict monitoring of non-scheduled flight operations, enhanced security measures and surveillance at cargo terminals were issued," Mohol said.
Further, the minister said the government is considering amending the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023 to put hoax threat messenger in the no-fly list.
"It is also being considered to amend Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation for covering Aircraft in flight as well as on ground, airport etc," he added.
