Rescuers halt landslide search efforts over bad weather


RESCUERS paused search and rescue efforts because of bad weather as the death toll from a landslide on Java island three days ago rose to at least 25 people, said a spokesperson for the local rescuers.

Torrential rain in the city of Pekalongan in Central Java province triggered the landslide on Tuesday, and hundreds of rescuers have since been deployed to the area.

Spokesperson Zulhawari Agustianto said on Friday rescuers attending to the situation had to stop work because of heavy rain and fog.

He said three more people had been found before the search was suspended, raising the death toll to 25.

Officials had earlier on Tuesday put the number of dead at 17 in the immediate aftermath.

Zulhawari did not respond to questions on the number of people still missing.

The landslide occurred on a main road connecting Pekalongan to Dieng plateau, a popular tourist area.

Rescuers were being forced to walk about 4km to get into the site because the road was inaccessible.

An excavator has also been deployed in the area to clear the mudslide.

Separately, Indonesian authorities seeded clouds with salt on Friday to prevent more rainfall in Central Java, the country’s disaster agency said.

Java is Indonesia’s most densely populated island, home to over 150 million people. — Reuters

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