Landslides and flash floods hit Indonesia’s Sumatra, leaving 16 dead and six missing

Rescue workers in Indonesia have recovered 16 bodies buried under tons of mud and rocks or swept away by flash floods that hit mountain villages on the island of Sumatra, officials said Monday.

Six people are still missing, officials said.

Mud, rocks and trees fell from a mountain after heavy rains last weekend and rivers overflowed their banks and tore through four hilly districts in North Sumatra province, washing away homes and destroying farms.

Police, soldiers and rescue workers used excavators, agricultural machinery and their bare hands to sift through the rubble for the dead and missing in Semangat Gunung, a resort town in Karo district, said Juspri M. Nadeak, head of the local disaster management office.

Rescuers recovered six bodies after a landslide struck two houses and a cottage late on Sunday, he said. Nine injured people managed to escape, he said. Rescuers were still searching Monday for four missing people, including two children.

Rescuers recovered two bodies from a river on Sunday after flash floods swept away at least 10 houses and damaged about 150 houses and buildings in villages in South Tapanuli district, said Puput Mashuri, head of the local disaster management office.