Rescue workers in Indonesia are searching for survivors after a landslide in Java killed 19 people. news
Heavy rains in Pekalongan caused a devastating landslide, blocking a main road and burying houses.
Rescue workers in Indonesia are continuing to search for survivors after a landslide killed at least 19 people in the country’s Central Java province.
Torrential rains in Pekalongan on Tuesday caused a landslide on the main road connecting the town to the tourist area Dieng Plateau.
Local media footage showed affected roads and houses buried and rice fields covered with mud, debris and rocks.
Due to the road being inaccessible, rescue workers had to walk about four kilometers (2.5 mi) to reach the site. An excavator was deployed to clear the landslide, while heavy rain and fog hampered rescue efforts.
“Joint search and rescue team managed to locate and recover two bodies on Wednesday morning…. National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Abdul Muhari said the death toll as of this afternoon stood at 19 people.
“The two bodies found this morning were part of the list of people reported missing in the tragic incident.”
Search and rescue agency Basarnas said on Wednesday that 13 people were also injured.
Local official Mohammad Youlian Akbar said heavy machinery had been deployed to clear road access for search teams and about 200 rescue workers had been dispatched to help with the rescue effort.
“The focus is on finding the victims,” he said. He said the local government has declared emergency in the district for two weeks.
Pictures shared by the disaster agency showed rescue workers carrying victims in body bags with bamboo stretchers under thick fog from the scene.
The agency warned residents that rain is expected over the next few days, which could lead to more landslides and flash flooding.
Landslides are most likely to occur in Indonesia during the rainy season, usually between November and April, but in recent years some disasters caused by adverse weather have occurred outside that season.
In December, 10 people were killed in flash floods in mountainous villages on the country’s main island of Java.
