30 die, over 100 missing in mud slide tragedy<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Agencies<\/p>\n
At least 30 people are dead and more than 100 others are missing
\nafter a mudslide, triggered by days of heavy rain, hit a hot
\nsprings resort in the East Java town of Pacet on Wednesday,
\npolice and medical staff said.<\/p>\n
The death toll will likely soar as some 100 people are
\nreported missing in the fatal disaster that struck the hot
\nsprings resort, according to the official Antara news agency.<\/p>\n
The springs are located on the slope of Mt. Welirang.<\/p>\n
Police and government officials in Mojokerto said tons of rock
\nand mud loosened by a flash flood buried three hot spring pools
\nand one swimming pool in Pacet.<\/p>\n
Most of the victims were aged between four and 10 years old,
\nwho were bathing in the pools. They were enjoying a break from
\nschool after celebrating the Idul Fitri holiday.<\/p>\n
\"Following the heavy rain, a sudden flash flood hit the hot
\nsprings, which were filled with about 50 to 60 people at the
\ntime. Many of them could not save themselves and most of the
\nvictims were children,\" a local correspondent of private Metro TV
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"Witnesses heard a strong sound of rushing water seconds
\nbefore mud and earth suddenly poured into the pools. Many of the
\nvictims were hit by large stones and washed away into a nearby
\nriver,\" Sukardi, a police officer in Mojokerto, told AFP.<\/p>\n
Lt. Col. Sobri Effendi, another local police officer, said
\nvillagers found some of the victims in the Mojosari river several
\nkilometers away from the complex.<\/p>\n
\"There is a pine forest above the hot springs and there has
\nbeen illegal wood cutting there,\" Sukardi said.<\/p>\n
The mud flow was running at the speed of 70 kilometers per
\nhour when it swept through the recreation center.<\/p>\n
A doctor at a public hospital in Pacet also confirmed that the
\ndeath toll had reached 30 and all of them had been sent to
\nhospitals in other parts of the province.<\/p>\n
A doctor, Krisnawan, said two bodies from his hospital and 21
\nfrom the health clinic had been sent to the Sumber Glagah
\nHospital in Mojokerto. \"We fear that there could be more
\nvictims,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The Dr. Soetomo General Hospital in Surabaya has deployed a
\nmedical team to provide first aid to victims at the scene.<\/p>\n
However, only 10 of the dead victims have been identified, the
\ndoctor said, adding that hundreds more were being treated for
\ntheir injuries at hospitals.<\/p>\n
Local rescue workers, police officers, villagers and family
\nmembers were digging away at the debris to reach those trapped
\nunderneath the mud and combing the area along the Mojosari river.<\/p>\n
Sigit, a staff member at the local office of state-owned
\nforestry company PT Perhutani, said a search and rescue team from
\nPerhutani, the resort management and the local police were
\nsearching for more victims and those listed as missing.<\/p>\n
Pacet is 30 kilometers southeast of Mojokerto near the
\ncountry's second largest city of Surabaya. The flash flood
\nfollowed three days of rain. Heavy rain has fallen over large
\nparts of Java in recent days.<\/p>\n
Floods, land and mud slides are common in Indonesia during the
\nrainy season, which usually runs from October to April. Many are
\nblamed on rampant deforestation by loggers and housing
\ndevelopers.<\/p>\n
The Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan ended over the weekend,
\nand many Indonesians are enjoying an extended holiday after Idul
\nFitri.<\/p>\n
A local staff member of the Environmental Forum (Walhi),
\nSyafrudin Ngulma, blamed the state Perhutani forest company for
\nignoring the illegal felling of trees in the area above the hot
\nsprings.<\/p>\n
\"Perhutani, which manages the hot springs resort, should be
\nheld responsible for the incident since it didn't warn visitors
\nabout the disaster,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He also called on the relevant local authorities to take
\naction against PT Perhutani and illegal sawmills which engage in
\nrampant illegal logging in the conserved forests of the
\nmountainous region.<\/p>\n
Mojokerto Regent Achmadi regretted the tragedy that took so
\nmany lives, and said that the tourist resort would be redesigned
\nto avoid other tragedies from occurring in the future.<\/p>",
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