Indonesian rescuers recover bodies after Java landslide, 72 still missing
The landslide killed at least 25, as authorities warn coming rain could further destabilise the slope as rescuers search
Improved weather on Sunday helped rescuers on Indonesia’s main island of Java recover more bodies as they dug through mud and debris in search of scores of missing in a landslide that killed more than two dozen villagers.
The predawn landslide on the slopes of Mount Burangrang in West Java province on Saturday buried some 34 houses in Pasir Langu village. On Sunday, 72 people remained missing, many feared buried under tons of mud, rocks and uprooted trees. About 230 residents living near the site were evacuated to government shelters.
A 250-member search team on Sunday collected victims’ remains, including body parts, in 14 body bags, bringing the total recovered to 25, according to Ade Dian Permana, who heads the local search and rescue office. They will be released to relatives once they are identified by forensic experts.
Videos released by the search agency showed rescuers using farm tools and bare hands to pull a body from the mud. Permana said that loose ground on the slope prevented heavy equipment from being deployed. He estimated mounds of mud were to be up to 5 meters (16 feet) high, saying “our teams must move carefully”.
“Some homes are buried up to the roof level,” he added.
The head of the National Search and Rescue Agency, Mohammad Syafii, said teams were also using drones and K-9s to locate bodies along the landslide that stretched more than 2 kilometres (1.2 miles).
