A landslide at Indonesia’s largest landfill has killed four people, with rescue teams searching for at least five more missing after heavy rain triggered the collapse.
BANTARGEBANG: A landslide at Indonesia’s largest landfill has killed four people, with rescue teams searching for at least five more reported missing. The collapse buried trucks and food stalls at the Bantargebang site just 25 kilometres outside Jakarta.
The national search and rescue agency said the landslide struck at 2.30pm on Sunday. Rescuers are using heavy equipment like backhoes and deploying tracking dogs to search for victims.
Local media reported the collapse followed hours of heavy rain in the area. The sprawling Bantargebang landfill covers more than 110 hectares and holds about 55 million tonnes of trash.
Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq blamed local authorities for allowing garbage to accumulate despite a 2008 ban on open landfills. “Bantargebang belongs to the Jakarta administration, so they have to take responsibility,” Hanif told broadcaster Kompas TV.
“This incident must truly serve as a bitter lesson for us so that Jakarta can promptly make improvements.” The Jakarta environmental agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Jakarta metropolitan area, home to about 42 million people, generates an estimated 14,000 tonnes of waste daily. President Prabowo Subianto said last month most of Indonesia’s landfills would exceed capacity by 2028.
The government plans to invest US$3.5 billion to build 34 waste-to-energy sites within two years. A 2005 landfill landslide in West Java killed 143 people after a methane gas explosion and heavy rain.
