200 feared dead in Indonesian landslide

JAKARTA,Wednesday (AFP) Some 200 people were feared dead in a landslide triggered by heavy rains that buried scores of houses in Indonesia's Central Java province Wednesday, police said as rescuers scrambled to find survivors.

"We suspect there are about 200 people in 120 houses buried in the mud," local chief of police operations Budi said, adding that about 150 police and soldiers were at the scene carrying out rescue operations.

He said some residents of the hillside village of Cijeruk, located about 370 kilometres (230 miles) east of the capital Jakarta, were at the mosque, which was unscathed, for morning prayers when the disaster struck.

Earlier, Nur Indah from the welfare office of the Banjar Negara district administration told AFP that about 160 people were thought to be buried in 80 homes. "Residents living at the foot of Mount Raja... heard a thundering sound before earth caved in," she said.

Budi said the landslide occurred after three days of heavy monsoon rains and hit at about 5:00 am (2200 GMT Tuesday).

"So far we have received information that three people are dead and 13 injured," a policeman at Banjar Negara district station, Subroto, told AFP. The injured were taken to the district's general hospital, he said.

The accident came as rescuers continued to sift through debris and mud in the aftermath of flash floods in East Java province which have killed at least 57 people and left thousands homeless.

"The evacuation of bodies is still continuing. Twenty bodies are still at the scene but they have been included in the tally. We will use a helicopter if land transport is not possible," Teduh Tedjo, who is coordinating police rescue efforts, told AFP by telephone from Jember.

Misdarno, from the disaster coordinating center in East Java's capital Surabaya, said the death toll was still at 57 but 17 more people were listed as missing. "Rescue workers are still combing the affected areas for more victims and trying to evacuate remaining dead bodies," he said.

"Bridges have collapsed and the currents are strong so only SAR (search and rescue) workers have the capability to access the areas."