Some 80 Die In Indonesian Plane Crash and Landslides
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – Indonesia was dealing with the aftermath of two significant disasters, including a plane crash and two landslides in which at least nearly 80 people perished.
On Monday, authorities intensified the investigation into what caused the Sriwijaya Air aircraft to plunge at high velocity into the Java Sea.
The Boeing 737-500 jet, with 62 people on board, disappeared Saturday, minutes after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital. It happened during heavy rain, authorities said. The search so far has yielded plane parts and human remains but no sign of survivors.
Separately two landslides triggered by heavy rain in Indonesia left at least 11 dead and 18 injured, officials said Sunday.
The second landslide in Cihanjuang village in the Sumedang district of West Java province occurred as rescuers were still evacuating people following the first disaster on Saturday, said National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Raditya Jati.
Rescuers were among the victims, he added.
Seasonal rains and high tide in recent days have caused dozens of landslides and widespread flooding across much of Indonesia.
It has raised concerns about the millions of people living on a chain of 17,000 islands in often mountainous areas or near fertile flood plains close to rivers.
Heavy rains may have impacted the plane crash Saturday, but residents also cited maintenance concerns.
Indonesia has been plagued by accidents on land, sea, and air because of overcrowding on ferries, aging infrastructure, and poorly enforced safety standards, critics say.
Amid the turmoil, local Christians are holding regular prayer services, Worthy News learned.
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