Fifteen perish, tow missing as landslides devastate Central Java

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

At least 15 were killed as landslides and floods triggered by days of rain swept through three villages in Purworejo regency, Central Java, residents said on Friday.

The dead included 13 victims from one family who were buried in a landslide in Plipir village and another one in Keseneng village, while the remaining victim drowned in a flood that hit Bagelang village.

Witnesses said the landslides hit on Thursday night while residents were sleeping.

At least 11 bodies have been pulled out from the rubble and two other victims -- Paiman and Sagiman -- are still missing. Rescue teams were not optimistic about finding survivors.

Difficult conditions in the affected area hampered efforts to find the missing two. Many fallen trees increased the difficulties faced by rescuers.

Rescuers were unable to bring in heavy equipment due to a lack of access to the scene, and they had to dig to a depth of between three and five meters to find survivors.

Eyewitness Ahmad Gunadi, who lives around 25 meters from the location of the landslide in Plipir, said the disaster followed two days of rain since Wednesday.

"Amid the heavy rain, I suddenly heard a loud rumble like the sound of a helicopter flying low. By the time I got out of my house, four of my neighbors' houses were already buried up to five meters deep," Ahmad said.

The houses, located around 100 meters from a hillside, belonged to a single family with 13 members, he added.

Only one member of the family, identified as Tito Riwayatono, 29, survived the disaster as he was not at home but attending a routine religious gathering on Thursday night.

"At the time I did not know at all if my family was affected by the disaster. But when I came home at 9 p.m., I could no longer see my house or find my family members," Tito said crying.

When he discovered that his house had been flattened by the landslide, Tito immediately shouted for help along with his neighbor Ahmad Gunadi.

The two ran to the nearby mosque and grabbed a microphone asking for help from other residents.

The 13 dead family members included Sukardi, 65, and his wife Sarinah, 60; Tukino, 39, his wife Ruskayaiti, 32, and their two children Edi Rahmatdani, 11, and Ahmat Fifai, 3; Paiman, 24, his wife Mursidah, 24, who was nine-months pregnant, and their daughter Nina Aryanti, 6.

Tito's wife Siti Lestarini, 25, and their two children Fauziyah Verawati and Ibnu Saefudin, 6. were also killed along with Sukardi's son-in-law, Sagiman, who was staying overnight with them.

Another victim, identified as Istighomah, 47, was buried by a landslide that hit Keseneng village in Purworejo subdistrict.

Meanwhile, Setro Semito, a 70-year-old resident from Bagelan village in the same subdistrict was swept away by a flood following heavy rain in the southern part of Central Java and Yogyakarta.

Bagelan village chief Sukiswanto said landslides had hit three areas but could not give any details as yet.

Landslides are common in Indonesia due to rampant illegal logging and heavy rainfall during the rainy season, which will continue until March.

A landslide that swept through a small village in West Java earlier this month killed a mother and her three young children.

In November 2002, mud slides ripped through a hot spring resort in Pacet subdistrict, Mojokerto regency, East Java, killing at least 26 people.

One year later, more than 200 people were killed when a flash flood devastated the Bukit Lawang resort in Bahorok, North Sumatra.