Authorities in Indonesia have concluded rescue operations after a landfill collapse near Jakarta killed seven people when heavy rains triggered a massive garbage slide.
The incident occurred on Sunday at the Bantargebang landfill in Bekasi, West Java, the country’s largest landfill serving the capital region. A large mound of waste collapsed after rain saturated the site, burying people under tonnes of debris.
Desiana Kartika Bahari, head of Jakarta’s Search and Rescue Office, said operations ended on Tuesday, 10th March, after rescuers located the final victim. “We received information from police that two among those missing were safe and had returned to their homes,” Bahari said.
The confirmed toll stands at seven dead and six survivors.Earlier updates from authorities on Monday reported four people dead, four survivors and five missing. More than 200 rescuers participated in the search, supported by up to 300 personnel in total according to some reports. Teams used excavators, heavy machinery, thermal drones and sniffer dogs while working carefully on unstable piles of waste to avoid further collapse.
The victims included people working at or near the landfill. Reports identified them as two garbage truck drivers, three scavengers and two food stall sellers operating at the site.
Bantargebang spans about 110 hectares and handles between 6,500 and 7,000 tonnes of waste daily from Greater Jakarta. Some estimates place the daily intake as high as 14,000 tonnes.
The site contains around 55 million tonnes of accumulated waste and has long been described as overwhelmed. The collapse has renewed scrutiny of waste management practices in the Jakarta region.
Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq described the disaster as a “bitter lesson” and said Bantargebang represents the “tip of the iceberg” of the capital’s waste problems. Minister Hanif noted that about 80 million tonnes of waste have accumulated over 37 years under pressure from continued open dumping.
“This incident must truly serve as a bitter lesson for us so that Jakarta can promptly make improvements,” Hanif Faisol Nurofiq told local news outlets.
Minister Hanif criticised the continued operation of open dumping sites despite a 2008 ban and urged authorities to address the root causes to prevent further victims.
Greater Jakarta, known as Jabodetabek, is home to about 42 million people and produces vast amounts of daily waste, placing heavy pressure on facilities such as Bantargebang. Authorities have now closed the search operation, confirming that no further people are missing.
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