The toll of those dead or feared missing from floods and landslides in Indonesia rose to 87 on Thursday, said Rustam Pakaya, a ministry of health disaster official.
The village of Ledoksari, about 400 kilometres southeast of the capital Jakarta on the island of Java, was especially hard hit. Almost half of the country's total casualties were in the village, the UN-administered website ReliefWeb said Wednesday. On Thursday, a rescue agency official reported that soldiers had found another 12 bodies there.
Rescuers search for landslide victims in Tawangmangu in Central Java province on Wednesday. As many as 87 people are dead or feared dead, a government official said Thursday.
(Associated Press)
Days of heavy rains loosened soil on hills that had been stripped of trees. On Dec. 26, the mud came sliding down.
More than 28,000 people left the towns of Solo and Sragen on Java, Pakaya said. There were also reports of flooding in at least four other parts of the country.
Police were hunting for two motorcyclists who they feared had been swept away in East Java province when a bridge collapsed. Police were recovering bikes and motorcycles from the water.
Soldiers, police and volunteers used heavy equipment and hand tools to dig among ruined buildings, looking for survivors. Parts of the country had been isolated after the rains washed out roads.
With files from the Associated Press
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