13 dead, dozens missing after two landslides hit village
Rescuers are searching for 26 people still missing after two landslides hit a village in Indonesia’s West Java province over the weekend.
At least 13 people were killed and 29 others injured in the landslides that were triggered by heavy rain on Sunday in Cihanjuang, a village in West Java’s Sumedang district.
Some of the victims were rescuers from the first landslide.
The search and rescue operation has been hampered by rainy weather around the disaster site, said National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Raditya Jati.
Seasonal rains and high tides in recent days have caused dozens of landslides and widespread flooding across much of Indonesia, a chain of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile floodplains close to rivers.
The landslides at Cihanjuang Village in West Java, about 150 km southeast of the capital Jakarta took place at 4pm and 7.30pm local time on Saturday, Jati said in a statement according to Reuters.
"The first landslide was triggered by high rainfall and unstable soil condition,” Jat said.
“The subsequent landslide occurred while officers were still evacuating victims around the first landslide area.’
A bridge and roads were blocked by the landslides as authorities struggled to bring in heavy equipment to clear the debris.
Seasonal rains and high tide in recent days have caused dozens of landslides and widespread flooding across much of Indonesia.
It comes a day after a Sriwijaya Air jet carrying 62 people crashed into the sea soon after taking off from the capital Jakarta in heavy rain.
With Associated Press and Reuters
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