Nine killed, 27 feared missing in Brebes landslide<\/p>\n
BREBES, Central Java (JP): A landslide swept through the
\nvillage of Windu Sakti here as residents slept on Wednesday
\nnight, leaving at least nine people dead and another 27 missing.<\/p>\n
The landslide, which followed torrential rains that had fallen
\nin the area since Tuesday, also buried 19 houses, a village hall
\nand a mosque.<\/p>\n
As of Thursday evening, a rescue team comprising members of
\nthe local police force, military personnel and village residents
\nhad unearthed nine bodies. The remaining 27 missing villagers are
\nfeared dead beneath the mud.<\/p>\n
Rescue efforts were halted on Thursday night when heavy rain
\nbegan pounding the hills surrounding the village, raising fears
\nof another landslide.<\/p>\n
\"The landslides are expected to continue. We will find it
\ndifficult to recover more corpses from the mud,\" Yustan Hanidi, a
\nmember of the rescue team, said.<\/p>\n
Village head Daska Sunarya identified those killed as Abdul
\nMuvid, 29; Rohidin, 9; Mrs. Darki, 65; Mrs. Taski, 25; Sahidin,
\n9; Mrs. Daram, 22; Daski, 35; Mrs. Kartini, 35; and one-year-old
\nTarmilah.<\/p>\n
\"Tarmilah's parents, Solihin and Sarsi, are still missing,\"
\nDaska said.<\/p>\n
He said the village had a total of 497 residents. \"All the
\nsurvivors are now staying at neighboring villages.\"<\/p>\n
A Windu Sakti resident, Darso, 35, described the landslide,
\nwhich struck without warning.<\/p>\n
\"I heard a sound like thunder and the earth shook. The people,
\nwho were mostly sleeping, rushed from their homes. Many of them
\nran toward the forest and some of them ran to open ground,\" he
\ntold The Jakarta Post on Thursday.<\/p>\n
He said all those residents who fled into the forest survived.
\n\"But those who ran to open ground were crushed by the flow of
\nmud.\"<\/p>\n
He said the villagers never expected the 300-meter-high hill,
\ncalled Bukit Kukuncung, to collapse.<\/p>\n
Other survivors said the flowing mud blocked a river which ran
\nalongside the village, causing it to burst its banks.<\/p>\n
Windu Sakti is located 80 kilometers southeast of the town of
\nBrebes. The landslide effectively paralyzed local ground traffic,
\nwith vehicles heading to the village forced to take a southern
\nroute which is twice as long as the normal route.<\/p>\n
Central Java Governor Mardiyanto said the missing villagers
\nmust be found, dead or alive. \"The provincial administration will
\nhelp finance medical treatment for the survivors and the burial
\nof the dead,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Brebes Regent Tadjuddin Nuraly said his office had allocated
\nRp 10 million to help the villagers, while the district office
\ndonated three tons of rice and Rp 5 million in cash and medicine.<\/p>\n
Residents of neighboring villages also have donated used
\nclothes to help the landslide survivors.<\/p>\n
A landslide also struck the neighboring village of Gunung
\nJaya, leaving one person dead and 12 houses damaged by the mud.
\nThe fatality had not been identified as of Thursday.<\/p>\n
Local police officers said some 80 houses in the village were
\nthreatened by the landslide. (45\/har\/edt\/sur)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/nine-killed-27-feared-missing-in-brebes-landslide-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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