4 killed in Indonesia landfill collapse

JAKARTA – A landslide on Indonesia’s biggest landfill buried trucks and food stalls, killing four people, rescuers said on March 9 as they searched for at least five more reported missing.

The landslide struck at 2.30pm (3.30pm Singapore time) on March 8 at Bantargebang, a landfill just 25km outside the capital, according to the national search and rescue agency.

“The rescuers are opening access using heavy equipment like backhoes and deploying tracking dogs to search for any indication of victims,” the agency said in a statement.

The collapse took place after hours of heavy rain in the area, the local media reported.

Jakarta and its satellite cities, collectively known as Jabodetabek, are home to about 42 million people and generate an estimated 14,000 tonnes of waste daily.

Bantargebang, one of the world’s largest open landfills, sprawls over more than 110ha and holds about 55 million tonnes of trash, according to a local environment agency official.

Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq pointed the finger at local authorities for allowing the accumulation of garbage despite a 2008 ban on open landfills.

“Bantargebang belongs to the Jakarta administration, so they have to take responsibility,” Mr Hanif told broadcaster Kompas TV late on March 8 while visiting the disaster site.

“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 AFP’s request for comment.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said in February that most of Indonesia’s landfills, which are being gradually phased out, would exceed their capacity by 2028.

The government will invest US$3.5 billion (S$4.5 billion) in a project to build 34 waste-to-energy sites within two years that would incinerate garbage to produce electricity, he said.

A landfill landslide killed 143 people in West Java in 2005, triggered by a methane gas explosion and heavy rain in the area. AFP