At least 11 people confirmed dead and search
under way for hundreds after mudslide buries
homes in Java province.
A landslide in Indonesia triggered by torrential
rains has left at least 11 people dead, destroyed
105 houses and left at least a 100 people missing ,
officials say .
Rescuers struggled on Saturday to reach those
missing after the mudslide buried houses in a hilly
district on the country 's main island of Java the
previous night .
Hundreds of rescuers, including police , soldiers
and residents, were digging through the debris
with their bare hands , shovels and hoes for
the people still missing .
They were later helped by tractors and bulldozers
arriving in the district.
Al Jazeera' s Step Vaessen , reporting from Jakarta ,
said the rescue efforts were going slowly because
the area was still very unsafe.
"It has been raining non- stop for two days , and
that is the reason this huge chunk of mountain
came down - a whole village has been wiped
away ," our correspondent said .
"Around 700 rescue workers and volunteers are in
the area , but work is painstakingly slow. They can
only use manual equipment .
"It is very dangerous for rescue workers as
landslides could happen at any minute . "
Workers were using life detection equipment in the
area , but had been unable to locate any survivors.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho , spokesman for the
National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said 379
people had been taken to temporary shelters.
"Jemblung village was the most affected, " he said
in a statement . "Rescuers are still trying to find
more victims. The challenge is that the evacuation
route is also damaged by the landslide . "
"At the moment eight people have been found dead
and we are still looking for 100 unaccounted for . "
"Conditions on the ground are pretty tough and we
need heavy machines to clear the road that has
been covered by the landslide . "
Hundreds have been evacuated from the site in
Banjarnegara, in central Java , where media
footage showed a flood of mud and water
cascading down a wooded mountain side .
Seasonal downpours cause frequent landslides and
flash floods each year in Indonesia, a chain of
17, 000 islands where millions of people live
in mountainous areas or near fertile flood plains
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