Indonesia Hit By Deadly Landslides; Tourist Minibus Crash

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

JAKARTA (Worthy News) – Indonesia was Tuesday with the aftermath of multiple tragedies after deadly landslides on Java and a tourist minibus crash in Bali killed dozens and left many missing.

Rescue workers on Java’s main island continued digging through tons of mud and debris as they searched for 34 missing people after two separate landslides in different regions killed at least 18 people, according to officials.

In the Cilacap district, rescuers recovered more bodies after torrential rains triggered landslides on Thursday night, destroying dozens of houses across three villages.

The death toll there climbed to 16, said Abdul Muhari, spokesperson for Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

HUNDREDS OF RESCUERS

More than 500 rescue personnel, including police and soldiers, supported by 22 excavators and 18 sniffer dogs, were deployed across five devastated areas. Search teams were still trying to locate seven villagers who had been missing for a fifth day, Muhari said in a video statement.

Another landslide struck Banjarnegara district on Saturday, when tons of mud crashed down surrounding hills, burying at least 30 houses and forcing over 800 residents to flee to emergency shelters — some on higher ground still vulnerable to further landslides.

Elsewhere, people on the resort island of Bali were mourning after a minibus carrying Chinese tourists sped out of control and crashed on Friday morning, killing five passengers and injuring eight others, officials said.

The vehicle was traveling from southern to northern Bali on a winding downhill road when the driver lost control, sending the minibus into a garden and striking a tree, said Ida Bagus Widwan Sutadi, police chief in Buleleng regency.

LACK OF CAUTION

“Due to the driver’s lack of caution when turning and descending, he veered off the asphalt road and into a community garden,” Sutadi said.

The road was reported dry at the time of the crash.

The Indonesian driver, who was uninjured, has been arrested, police said.

Those injured were treated at two hospitals.

Road accidents remain common in Indonesia, partly due to poor safety standards and weak infrastructure, according to investigators.

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