Rescuers in Indonesia are searching for survivors after a landslide killed 19 people in Java | News
Heavy rains in Pekalongan caused a devastating landslide, blocking the main road and burying houses.
Rescuers in Indonesia continue to search for survivors after a landslide in the country’s Central Java province killed at least 19 people.
Heavy rain in Pekalongan caused a landslide on Tuesday on the main road that connects the city to the tourist area, Dieng Plateau.
Footage on local media shows buried roads and houses, and rice fields covered in mud, rubble and stones.
Rescuers were forced to walk about four kilometers (2.5 miles) to reach the site as the road was inaccessible. An excavator was brought in to clear the landslide as heavy rain and fog hampered rescue efforts.
“A joint search and rescue team was able to find and evacuate two bodies … on Wednesday morning. The death toll recorded as of this afternoon is 19,” said Abdul Muhari, spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
“The two bodies found this morning were part of a list of people reported missing in the tragic event.”
The Basarnas search and rescue agency said on Wednesday that 13 people were also injured.
Heavy machinery was deployed to clear access to the road for search teams, and about 200 rescuers were dispatched to aid rescue efforts, local official Mohammad Yulian Akbar said.
“The focus is on the search for victims,” he said, adding that local authorities had declared a state of emergency in the district for two weeks.
Pictures shared by the disaster agency showed rescuers carrying victims in body bags on bamboo stretchers under thick fog from the site.
The agency warned residents that rain is expected in the next few days, which could cause new landslides and flash floods.
Indonesia is prone to landslides during the rainy season, usually between November and April, but some weather-related disasters have occurred outside of that season in recent years.
In December, 10 people were killed flash floods which hit the hilly villages on the main island of Java.
