DIGGING FOR SURVIVORS
Bergas Catursasi Penanggungan, a Central Java disaster agency official, gave a higher death toll of 17 and said rescuers faced delays due to the difficulty of accessing the area.
“One more person was found dead, 17 (dead),” he told AFP.
“There is also a broken bridge. (Rescuers) must go around. There are still small landslides that must be cleared.”
Indonesian officials from different agencies can often give conflicting numbers in the wake of natural disasters.
Search efforts were briefly suspended on Tuesday morning as heavy rain hit the area.
“The situation in the location depends on the weather. It’s a landslide-prone area,” said Bergas.
The disaster official said local volunteers had joined search efforts alongside rescue workers, police and soldiers, while heavy machinery would be called in to help dig for survivors.
“Going forward, for those who are buried under thicker soil, we hope for assistance from heavy equipment,” he earlier told broadcaster Kompas TV.
Indonesia is prone to landslides during the rainy season, typically between November and April, but some disasters caused by adverse weather have taken place outside that season in recent years.
In November flooding triggered by intense rains in western Indonesia killed 27 people.
In May, at least 67 people died after heavy rains caused flash floods in West Sumatra, pushing a mixture of ash, sand and pebbles from the eruption of Mount Marapi washed into residential areas.
Source: CNA
