December 15, 2025 | 11:31 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A number of posts containing claims about the presence of many dead bodies inside cars in Aceh Tamiang Regency, Aceh, circulated on TikTok [archive], X [archive], and Facebook on December 7, 2025.
The posts show a row of cars parked along the highway up to the area of a Public Fuel Station (SPBU). The uploader included a disturbing narrative about the numerous bodies inside the cars, which had begun to emit a foul odor.
Is it true that bodies were found in a car in Aceh Tamiang after the flash floods at the end of November?
FACT CHECK
Tempo verified this claim by contacting disaster management officials and searching credible media sites.
Sulaiman, the communications officer for the Aceh Tamiang Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), denied the claim that there were bodies piled up in the car. This conclusion was reached after a joint team from the BPBD, the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), and the Police Headquarters' K-9 Unit combed through the location shown in the circulating video.
“We have combed through the location and there are no bodies inside the car,” Sulaiman told Tempo on Wednesday, December 10, 2025.
A similar denial came from Taryadi, an official at the Emergency Response Post and a member of the Aceh Tamiang Military District Command (Kodim 0117). “That information is fake news,” he said.
Data from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) geoportal as of December 11, 2025, recorded a total of 58 deaths due to flash floods and landslides in Aceh Tamiang Regency.
The Head of the Aceh Tamiang Resort Police, Assistant Commissioner Muliadi, also dismissed the issue of bodies in abandoned vehicles on the side of the road. He confirmed that his team had checked the row of vehicles affected by the flood.
“After we searched and checked along the road up to the Tanah Terban gas station, which was also accompanied by media crews, there were no bodies in the vehicles,” Muliadi stated in a written statement on Monday, December 8, 2025.
Muliadi explained that the police combed the location thoroughly by checking every vehicle left behind by its owners. This inspection involved dozens of personnel to ensure the accuracy of the data in the field.
This issue began with a statement by the Governor of Aceh, Muzakir Manaf, alias Mualem, during a joint meeting at the Aceh Natural Disaster Management Integrated Command Post at Sultan Iskandar Muda Air Base, Aceh Besar, on Friday, December 5, 2025.
At that time, Mualem asked officers to inspect the roads between Langsa and Tamiang. He suspected that there were many bodies in cars that had begun to decompose. This statement was recorded in a YouTube upload by Tribunnews on December 7.
Photo Verification
Photo 1
This photo is the same as a video clip uploaded by the Kompas TV Pontianak YouTube account titled “Aceh Tamiang Police Officers Inspect Cars Left Behind During Floods, No Bodies Found,” December 9, 2025.
Photo 2
This photo is a screenshot from a video that has been widely circulated on social media. One of the uploaders is the Instagram account of content creator @adiefwafi. He uploaded the video on December 6, 2025, to raise funds for flood victims in Aceh Tamiang.
A video with similar conditions was uploaded to the Metro TV YouTube account on December 5, 2025.
CONCLUSION
Tempo's verification concludes that the claim that many bodies were found inside cars in Aceh Tamiang is false.
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