Heavy Rainfall Hinders Search for Missing After Deadly Indonesian Landslide

The Associated Press
Published: April 2,2017
Heavy rainfall on Sunday hindered the search for more than two dozen people who went missing after a rain-triggered landslide struck a village on Indonesia's main island of Java. Two bodies were found before the search was suspended.
Four excavators worked to dredge mud, sand and rocks that piled the debris up to 66 feet high.
Chief of staff of the local army, Lt. Col. Jemz Ratu Edo, said the two bodies were discovered before the search was suspended. One body had been found Saturday.
The landslide hit some 23 houses and farmers harvesting ginger on a hillside in Banaran village in East Java province's Ponorogo district Saturday, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesman for Indonesia's Disaster Mitigation Agency. At least 27 are missing.
(MORE: Heavy Rains Unleash Mudslides in Colombia, Killing More Than 100)
The local army chief, Lt. Col. Slamet Sarijanto, said that according to villagers, 38 people were buried by the landslide — 22 in their houses and 16 while harvesting ginger.
Nugroho said 17 people were injured and being treated at a hospital.
"The search was halted and will be resumed tomorrow because the weather conditions and unstable terrain could lead to more landslides," he said.
Disaster agency rescuers, soldiers, police officers and volunteers took part in the search for the missing, Nugroho said, adding that difficulties in accessing the disaster site hampered rescue efforts.

Rescuers inspect the damage in a neighborhood hit by a landslide in the village of Banaran, Ponorogo, East Java, Indonesia, Saturday, April 1, 2017. More than two dozen people were reported missing on Saturday after the rain-triggered landslide struck a village on Indonesia's main island of Java.
(AP Photo/Firdaus)

The landslide — measuring 800 meters (half a mile) long and 20 meters (66 feet) high, according to Nugroho — overturned vehicles, shattered and buried buildings, and left a massive scar on a hillside where lush vegetation had been torn away.

Rescuers search for victims in a neighborhood hit by a landslide in the village of Banaran, Ponorogo, East Java, Indonesia, Saturday, April 1, 2017. More than two dozen people were reported missing on Saturday after the rain-triggered landslide struck a village on Indonesia's main island of Java.
(AP Photo/Firdaus)

Seasonal rains cause frequent floods in Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago nation, where many of the country's 256 million people live in mountainous areas or fertile, flood-prone plains near rivers.
MORE: Colombia Mudslide October 2016

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