Indonesia searches for those missing after landfill collapse kills five
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The collapse took place at the Bantargebang landfill on March 8, located in the region of Bekasi on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta.
PHOTO: REUTERS
JAKARTA - A landslide on Indonesia’s biggest landfill buried trucks and food stalls, killing five people, rescuers said on March 9 as they searched for at least four more reported missing.
The collapse took place at the Bantargebang landfill on March 8, located in the region of Bekasi on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta, said Ms Desiana Kartika Bahari, head of the local rescue agency.
It was likely triggered by the heavy rain that hit the area from the evening of March 7, she told Reuters.
“It was raining all day even from Saturday evening and the mountain of garbage was unstable,” Ms Desiana said.
Some trucks were unloading garbage when the collapse took place, and there was also a food stall near the site.
“The missing people are the truck drivers and scavengers,” she said, adding that there could be more people buried in the landfill.
Four people survived the accident.
More than 200 rescuers, including police and military personnel, and 17 excavators, have been deployed since the morning of March 9 to search for the missing.
Bantargebang covers around 110ha and receives around 6,500 tonnes to 7,000 tonnes of garbage per day. REUTERS
