Indonesian landslide kills at least 11 as rescuers search for missing villagers

Rescuers search for survivors after a landslide buried some houses in Cibeunying village, Cilacap regency, central Java. Photo / Bakhtiar Rahman, AFP

A landslide on Indonesia’s Java Island has killed at least 11 people, an official has said, updating a previous tally as rescuers scrambled to find 12 others who are still missing.

The landslide, caused by heavy rainfall, hit three villages in Central Java province on Thursday (local time), burying some houses and damaging others.

“As of Saturday afternoon, the number of victims who were found dead is 11, while 12 more are still being searched for,” local search and rescue chief Muhammad Abdullah told AFP.

More than 700 personnel from the search and rescue office, military and police as well as volunteers were involved in the operation, he said.

A spokesman for the national disaster agency had previously reported that two bodies were found on Thursday. Another was recovered on Friday and eight more on Saturday, according to Abdullah.

The Government has deployed excavators and tracking dogs to assist the search, he added.

The national weather service had warned earlier this week of extreme conditions that could cause hydrometeorological disasters, with heavy rainfall expected across several regions in Indonesia in the coming weeks.

The annual monsoon season, typically between November and April, often brings landslides, flash floods and water-borne diseases.

Climate change has impacted storm patterns, including the duration and intensity of the season, resulting in heavier rainfall, flash flooding and stronger wind gusts.

Earlier in November, flash floods and landslides in a remote area of Papua killed at least 15 people.

– Agence France-Presse