Jakarta: At least 32 people were killed by a landslide in Indonesia on New Year’s Eve, authorities said Monday as they ended a week-long search for missing victims. Rescuers who have been pulling bodies from mountains of mud called off the search with one person still unaccounted for after heavy rains triggered the deadly slides in West Java province.
Several others were injured in the December 31 disaster. “The search has wrapped up,” said West Java police chief Agung Budi Maryoto. “Just one victim has not yet been found and the family has accepted it.” Landslides are common in Indonesia, a vast tropical archipelago prone to natural disasters and torrential downpours.
More than 20 people died in October when flash floods and landslides hit several provinces on Sumatra island, western Indonesia. In June 2016, nearly 50 people died when floods and landslides struck Central Java province.
