Sawt Falasteen - Rain-triggered landslide kills 17 in Indonesia

Intense rainfall in a mountainous area near Pekalongan city in Central Java province sparked the landslide on Monday, collapsing at least one bridge and burying houses and cars in thick mud.

"The joint team evacuated one more victim buried by the landslide. With the discovery... the number of victims who died reached 17," National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Abdul Muhari said in a statement.

"Meanwhile the number of people who are missing rose to nine," he said. The number of missing had earlier been put at three.

Indonesia is prone to landslides during the rainy season, typically between November and April, although some disasters caused by adverse weather have occurred outside that period in recent years.

Muhari said earlier the landslide had "buried two houses and dragged several vehicles passing through the area", with the landslide's remote location hindering rescue teams.

Television footage showed volunteers retrieving a body on a makeshift stretcher and roads caked in thick mud.

Pekalongan police chief Doni Prakoso Widamanto told local broadcaster Metro TV at least 10 people were injured, while rescuers continued to search for the missing.

He said the landslide hit an area around 90 kilometres (60 miles) west of Semarang city.

"The rainfall in Pekalongan was quite high and the worst affected area... is in a hilly or mountainous area," Doni said.

Muhari said the weather forecast for the next three days showed potential moderate rains that could "cause floods, flash floods and landslides".

- Digging for survivors -

Bergas Catursasi Penanggungan, a Central Java disaster agency official, also gave a death toll of 17 and said rescuers faced delays due to damaged infrastructure and debris.

"There is also a broken bridge. (Rescuers) must go around. There are still small landslides that must be cleared," he said.

Search efforts were intermittently suspended on Tuesday morning as heavy rain hit the area.

"The rain is also still pouring until now and it makes it difficult for the rescue team to scour the site," Muhari said.

He 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," Bergas earlier told broadcaster Kompas TV.

Flooding triggered by intense rains in western Indonesia killed 27 people in November.

In May, at least 67 people were killed after heavy rains caused flash floods in West Sumatra that pushed a mixture of ash, sand and pebbles from the eruption of Mount Marapi into residential areas.

G.AbuGhazaleh--SF-PST