Indonesian rescuers resume search for 80 missing after a landslide in West Java killed nine, using drones and dogs amid difficult terrain.
CISARUA: Indonesian rescuers resumed searching on Sunday for around 80 people missing after a deadly landslide in West Java.
The landslide, triggered by heavy rain, barrelled into villages in the West Bandung region early Saturday morning.
It buried residential areas and forced dozens of people to evacuate their homes.
At least nine people were killed, with the local search and rescue agency warning the figures were provisional.
Mission coordinator Ade Dian Permana said harsh weather forced rescue efforts to pause overnight.
Operations resumed on Sunday morning as the rain subsided, according to an AFP reporter.
Rescuers, helped by the military, police and volunteers, have been excavating manually.
They are also deploying drones and canine units to scour the area for victims.
West Bandung’s mayor warned on Saturday that the terrain was extremely difficult and the ground remained unstable.
Floods and landslides are common across the vast archipelago during the rainy season from October to March.
The disaster follows intense monsoon rains late last year that triggered deadly flooding and landslides in Sumatra.
Those events killed around 1,200 people and displaced more than 240,000, according to official figures.
Environmentalists and the government have pointed to the role of forest loss in such disasters.
The government filed multiple lawsuits following the Sumatra floods, seeking more than USD 200 million in damages against six firms.
This month, torrential rains on Indonesia’s Siau island caused a flash flood that killed at least 16 people.
