Death toll from landslides, floods in Indonesia rises to 15
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Indonesian soldiers use a rubber boat to evacuate residents while floods inundate the city of Manado on Feb 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
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Rescuers operate a excavator during the search for the victims of a landslide in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, Sunday, Feb 17, 2013. Landslides and floods triggered by torrential rain hit seven sub-districts in the provincial capital on Sunday. -- PHOTO: AP
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Rescuers search for the victims of a landslide in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, Sunday, Feb 17, 2013. Landslides and floods triggered by torrential rain hit seven sub-districts in the provincial capital on Sunday. -- PHOTO: AP
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Residents salvage their belongings while floods inundate the city of Manado on Feb 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
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Residents look on from the upper floor of their home while floods inundate the city of Manado on Feb 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
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An Indonesian man carries the body of a victim of a landslide in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, Sunday, Feb 17, 2013. Landslides and floods triggered by torrential rain hit seven sub-districts in the provincial capital on Sunday. -- PHOTO: AP
Indonesian soldiers use a rubber boat to evacuate residents while floods inundate the city of Manado on Feb 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
Rescuers operate a excavator during the search for the victims of a landslide in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, Sunday, Feb 17, 2013. Landslides and floods triggered by torrential rain hit seven sub-districts in the provincial capital on Sunday. -- PHOTO: AP
Rescuers search for the victims of a landslide in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, Sunday, Feb 17, 2013. Landslides and floods triggered by torrential rain hit seven sub-districts in the provincial capital on Sunday. -- PHOTO: AP
Residents salvage their belongings while floods inundate the city of Manado on Feb 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
Residents look on from the upper floor of their home while floods inundate the city of Manado on Feb 17, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
An Indonesian man carries the body of a victim of a landslide in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, Sunday, Feb 17, 2013. Landslides and floods triggered by torrential rain hit seven sub-districts in the provincial capital on Sunday. -- PHOTO: AP
MANADO, Indonesia (AP) - Rescuers found five more bodies in the mud after flooding and landslides in northern Indonesia, bringing the death toll to 15 after the disaster that sent thousands fleeing for safe ground, police and witnesses said.
Crying relatives watched in horror as residents and rescuers pulled out muddy corpses on Sunday from seven hamlets devastated by landslides and floods in Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province, while more than 1,000 houses were flooded by an overflowing river.
Authorities struggled to get tractors and bulldozers over washed-out roads hours after torrential rain sent mud and rocks crashing into hilly areas of Manado. Hundreds of police, soldiers and residents were digging through the debris with their bare hands, shovels and hoes.
North Sulawesi police chief Brig. Gen. Dicky Atotoy said 14 bodies were pulled from the mud and wreckage of crumpled homes, including three children aged between 3 and 10, and another was found in water late Sunday.
