The death toll from a landslide in West Java, Indonesia, has risen to 17, with rescue teams fearing further landslides amid unstable ground.
CISARUA: The death toll from a landslide in Indonesia has risen to 17, a disaster official confirmed on Monday.
The landslide, triggered by heavy rain, struck a village in Java’s West Bandung region early Saturday morning.
It buried residential areas in debris and forced dozens of people to evacuate their homes.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Abdul Muhari announced the updated death toll in a statement.
Abdul did not provide an update on the number of people still missing, which was around 80 on Sunday.
Rescuers are proceeding cautiously due to fears of another landslide from the unstable ground and bad weather.
“What we worry about most is the risk of subsequent (landslides),” said 25-year-old rescuer Rifaldi Ashabi.
He explained that during operations, teams cannot always focus on slopes that still have landslide potential.
Thousands of rescuers were involved in Monday’s operation, according to National Search and Rescue Agency operations director Yudhi Bramantyo.
They are using manual excavation to locate victims and have also deployed heavy equipment.
The disaster follows devastating floods and landslides that struck parts of Sumatra island late last year, killing around 1,200 people.
Such disasters are common across the Indonesian archipelago during the rainy season, which typically runs from October to March.
This month, torrential rains on Indonesia’s Siau island caused a flash flood that killed at least 16 peopl
