Jakarta, May 27 -- The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) has officially established its first specially trained sniffer dog or K9 unit to support domestic search and rescue (SAR) operations.

A total of 27 handlers from various SAR offices across Indonesia have completed the inaugural K9 training program. The training, conducted in collaboration with instructors from SAR Dog Indonesia (SDI), was held at the Basarnas Human Resource Training Center in Bogor, West Java, from May 15 to 27, 2025.

"This is the first batch. It marks a milestone in the establishment of trained K9 units within Basarnas. They will become part of a more responsive and modern SAR operation system," Heru Suhartanto, Head of BPSDMPP Basarnas, stated when co...