Indonesian rescuers search for missing in buried cars and bus after landslide in Sumatra
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Police and rescuers are focusing their search for missing people on three cars and one bus buried in mud.
PHOTO: REUTERS
JAKARTA - Indonesian rescuers on Nov 29 searched for survivors buried in three cars and bus at the base of a cliff after flash floods and landslides in North Sumatra province killed at least 29 people.
Torrential rain for the past week in the province has triggered flash floods and landslides in four different districts, Indonesia's disaster agency has said.
The death toll from one landslide on Nov 27 on a hilly inter-province road rose to nine from seven, Mr Hadi Wahyudi, the spokesman of North Sumatra police told Reuters on Nov 29.
At least five cars, one bus, and one truck were trapped at the base of a cliff following the landslide.
On Nov 29, police and rescuers focused their search for missing people on three cars and one bus buried in mud.
“We still don’t know how many people who were still trapped,” Mr Hadi said.
In other districts, landslides over the weekend killed 20 people and rescuers will keep searching for two missing people until Nov 30.
Flash floods hit the provincial city of Medan on Nov 29 although waters have receded in some areas, said Mr Sariman Sitorus, spokesperson for the local search agency.
The floods forced a delay in votes for regional elections in some areas in Medan on Nov 27.
Extreme weather is expected in Indonesia towards the end of 2024, as the La Nina phenomenon increases rainfalls across the tropical archipelago, the country's weather agency has warned. REUTERS
