Navy Chief Confirms 23 Marines Among Victims of Cisarua Landslide

Jakarta: Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Muhammad Ali has confirmed that 23 Marines were among the victims of a landslide in Cisarua, West Bandung, West Java.

“There are 23 Marines buried in the landslide. So far, four have been found dead, while the rest remain missing,” Ali told reporters at the Parliament Complex in Central Jakarta on Monday, as quoted from Antara, Tuesday 27 Januari 2026.

He said the Marines were deployed to the area for training ahead of an assignment to secure the Indonesia–Papua New Guinea border. The training coincided with two consecutive days of heavy rainfall.

“That may have triggered the landslide, which affected a nearby village. Coincidentally, our personnel were conducting training at the location,” Ali said.

The Indonesian Navy has deployed heavy equipment and drones to accelerate search and evacuation efforts, he added.

The landslide struck Pasirlangu Village in Cisarua Sub-district early Saturday (January 24), following prolonged heavy rain that destabilized soil and mud, burying homes and surrounding areas.

As of Monday, a joint Search and Rescue (SAR) team had recovered 29 bodies and handed them over to the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team for identification.

The West Bandung District Government has declared a Disaster Emergency Response status through Decree No. 100.3.3.2/Kep.25-BPBD/2026, effective from January 24 to February 6, 2026.

Search and rescue operations are being carried out by a joint team comprising the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI), the National Police, the Social Services Agency, Disaster Preparedness Cadets (Tagana), and other related agencies.

To assist the search, 12 K-9 search dogs from the National Police and the Semarang SAR Office were deployed on Monday to locate victims buried under mud and debris.