Minister of Social Affairs Conveys Deep Sorrow and Distributes Assistance to the Family of River Tracing Victims

SLEMAN (February 22, 2020) - The Ministry of Social Affairs responded quickly to the incident of SMPN 1 Turi students, Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta who have swept away in the river. After the field team through Tagana first supported the rescue and search for victims, this afternoon the Minister of Social Affairs Juliari P. Batubara went to the scene.

From his working visit to Magelang, Social Affairs Minister Juliari deliberately added a visit to Sleman, Yogyakarta. Accompanied by Sleman Regent Sri Purnomo, the Minister of Social Affairs went straight to a row of families of victims who were still waiting for certainty regarding the whereabouts of their families, students of SMPN 1 Turi, Sleman, at the Turi Health Center, Sleman, Yogyakarta, Saturday (2/22/2020) afternoon.

Before heading to the room where two female students who were victims of the incident were treated, Juliari first greeted a row of victims' families who were sitting in waiting chairs. To the victim's family, Juliari hoped that the family would remain steadfast, patient, and always pray.

"Stay strong, ma'am, be patient. We pray together. Let's pray that the best is given," said the Minister to the victim's family who was still crying. He also conveyed a similar hope to Prasetyo, the father of a student whose whereabouts were unknown. The Minister of Social Affairs then headed to the hospital room where the two surviving students were treated.

"I represent the government to come to see firsthand how the disaster is handled. And also we pray for the children who are still being treated so that they will recover soon so that they can return to normal and can do their activities as before," said Juliari.

Accompanied by his wife, Grace P. Batubara, the arrival of the Minister of Social Affairs in addition to directly reviewing the latest developments related to the "Susur Sungai" event, Friday (2/21/2020) yesterday, also visited the victims who were treated and the families of other victims. The Minister of Social Affairs expressed his deep sorrow, sympathy, and regret about why this sad event could occur.

Then, the Minister of Social Affairs moved to the location of the "river tracing" incident, right on the riverbank. The Minister saw firsthand the current condition of the river where several victims were found. The Minister of Social Affairs shook hands and gave appreciation and support to the joint SAR Team of related agencies who continued to work to find victims who were still being searched.

"Thank you, everyone. Keep up the spirit!" said the Minister of Social Affairs, accompanied by Director General of Social Rehabilitation Edi Suharto, and Director of Social Protection for Victims of Natural Disasters (PSKBA) Rahmat Kusnadi. The group then moved to the family home of the victim who died and met with the victim's parents. The Minister expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the victims.

The first to be visited was the family of Nur Azizah (class 8A / female / 15 years), a resident of Kembangarum Rt.2 Rw.30, Donokerto Village, Turi District. Then Lathifa Zulfaa (grade 8B / Female / 15 years), with the address Kembangarum Rt.4 Rw.33, Donokerto Village, Turi District.

To the heirs of the victims, the Minister of Social Affairs handed over compensation for the heirs of 8 victims who died worth IDR 120 million. While two people whose whereabouts are still unknown are still waiting for the results of the search for victims.

"Compensation from the Ministry of Social Affairs is IDR 15 million per dead victim. Injured victims have their costs fully covered by the local government until they can be returned to their respective homes," said the Minister.

The Minister also received information that there are still victims who have not been found. "We all pray that they will soon be found and the family will soon hear the news about their favorite children," said the Minister.

He hopes that the cause of the incident can be revealed thoroughly. "Because there are lives lost, of course, there must be an investigation. Why did this happen? Is there an element of negligence for example and so on," he said.

In providing support for the handling of this incident, the Ministry of Social Affairs has taken steps including coordination with the Joint Team at POSKO AJU and the Field; assessment in the form of data collection and data update; establishment of a public kitchen for food services for volunteers.

Assisted resources are in the form of 3 units of RTU cars, 1 unit of DUMLAP car, 1 unit of the generator, and 1000 W shooting lights (4 units). Then personnel resources in the form of Communication Forum (FK) Tagana Yogyakarta City (24 personnel), FK Tagana Sleman District (30 personnel); FK Tagana Bantul District (4 personnel); FK Tagana DIY (11 personnel), and Psychosocial Support Services Team.

Public Relations Bureau

Ministry of Social Affairs RI