Seasonal rains and high tides in recent days have caused dozens of landslides and widespread flooding across cities and villages in Indonesia

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Edited by | Hugh Gey

   Asia section CJ journalist

JAKARTA, Indonesia - 9 March 2023

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Rescuers recovered more bodies buried under tons of mud from a landslide that crashed onto a hilly village on Indonesia’s remote Natuna islands, bringing the death toll to 21, officials said Thursday.

The landslide, triggered by torrential downpours, plunged down surrounding hills on Monday, burying 30 houses in Genting village on a tiny remote island in the Natuna archipelago at the edge of the South China Sea, the National Search and Rescue Agency said in a statement.

Authorities have deployed more than 200 rescuers from the search and rescue agency, police, and military to search for 33 people who were apparently trapped in houses buried under the landslide, which was 4 meters (13 feet) deep, it said.

Eight people were pulled out alive with injuries, three of whom are in critical condition, National Disaster Management Agency chief Suharyanto said Thursday. They were rushed late Monday to a hospital in Pontianak city on Borneo island, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) from Genting, but one person died at sea on the way.

Heavy rains around the disaster site have hampered the search and rescue operation. The weather has forced the search effort to be halted several times, while downed communications lines and electricity are also impeding the process, said Suharyanto who, like many Indonesians, uses a single name.

“We are doing our best to find the missing victims,” Suharyanto said, adding that sniffer dogs are also being mobilized in the search.

Two helicopters and several vessels carrying rescuers, medical teams, and relief supplies, including tents, blankets, and food arrived on the island from Jakarta and nearby islands on Wednesday.

Monday’s landslide displaced about 1,300 people who were taken to four temporary shelters, Suharyanto said. Authorities feared the death toll could still rise.