04-05-2024 12:14 PM Jerusalem Timing

Indonesian Landslide Death Toll Rises to 51

Indonesian Landslide Death Toll Rises to 51

Indonesian rescuers dug through mud with shovels and their bare hands for a third day Monday in the hunt for dozens of people still missing after a landslide engulfed a village, as the death toll rose to 51

Indonesian rescuers dug through mud with shovels and their bare hands for a third day Monday in the hunt for dozens of people still missing after a landslide engulfed a village, as the death toll rose to 51.
  
Fifty-seven people are still unaccounted for after heavy rain triggered the landslide that swallowed up houses in Jemblung village on Java island late Friday. Officials say the chances of finding anyone alive are now slim.
  
More than 1,000 rescuers, including police and soldiers, have been digging through huge mounds of red mud that cascaded onto the village, which lies in a valley surrounded by hills, with a sound like thunder.
  
"We hope and pray that we can rescue some of the missing but the chances are slim," local search and rescue chief Agus Haryono told AFP.
  
National disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told reporters that as of Monday afternoon, rescuers had found 51 bodies and were still struggling to find the remaining 57 missing. "We are expecting to retrieve more bodies from the mud by the end of the day," he said.