17 killed, 2 missing in Indonesian landslide‎

17 killed, 2 missing in Indonesian landslide‎

2011-05-07 13:06:34 GMT+7 (ICT)

JAKARTA (BNO NEWS) -- At least 17 people were killed in a landslide triggered by heavy rain in West Java of Indonesia, officials said on Saturday.

Yayah Suheryanto, senior official of disaster management and mitigation agency in West Java, told Xinhua news agency that the landslide occurred on Friday afternoon after heavy rain. The rain also caused flash floods, forcing scores of villagers in Garut district to flee their homes.

Sutopo, the spokesman of the national disaster management and mitigation agency, said 17 people were killed, four were wounded, and two others remain missing. Rescuers and local residents were looking for the missing people.

According to Sutopo, the local government provided heavy machinery equipment to help clean the area hit by the floods and landslides.

Indonesia is frequently hit by landslides and floods due to deforestation. On April 17, nine people were killed and eight others were injured after a landslide in East Java province.

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