Indonesia steps up efforts to find dozens missing in landslide

At the landslide scene on March 6 (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Jakarta (VNA) – A total of 35 residents are still declared missing in a landslide that crashed into an Indonesian village in Riau province’s Natuna district on March 6, according to head of the country’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Lieutenant General Suharyanto.

In a statement on March 8, he said, as reported by Indonesia’s national news agency Antara, that these people are buried in the avalanche material up to four metres deep.

The search, rescue, and evacuation attempts have been hindered by bad weather, as light to heavy rains have fallen in the region almost all day in the past week, he noted.

According to the official, efforts are being made to find those remaining unaccounted for, with more personnel and sniffer dogs joining the search.

The landslide had claimed the lives of at least 17 people and caused some 1,200 others to be evacuated./.

VNA