Landslide and flash floods leave 16 dead in Sumatra, Indonesia

Rescuers in Indonesia recovered 16 bodies under tons of mud and rocks swept away in flash floods that hit mountainside villages in Sumatra, officials said.

Six people are still missing, according to officials.

Mud, rocks and trees tumbled down a mountain after torrential rains over the weekend and rivers burst their banks, tearing through four hilly districts in North Sumatra province, washing away houses and destroying farms.

Police, soldiers and rescue workers used excavators, farm equipment and their bare hands to sift through the rubble looking for the dead and missing in Semangat Gunung, a resort area in Karo district, said Juspri M Nadeak, who heads the local disaster management agency.

Rescuers recovered six bodies after a landslide hit two houses and a cottage late Sunday, he said.

Nine injured people managed to escape, he said.

Rescuers on Monday were still searching for four missing people, including two children.

Dozens of people were injured by the flash floods, which also destroyed more than 130 hectares (321 acres) of agricultural land and plantations.

Flash floods on Sunday left four people dead in Deli Serdang district and rescue workers on Monday were searching for two people who were swept away by flash floods and are still missing.

A landslide hit several houses in Harang Julu, a mountainside village in Padang Lawas district, said Mustari, the chief of the local search and rescue agency, who like many Indonesians goes by a single name.

Rescuers late Saturday pulled out the bodies of a four-member family, including two children, and rescued at least three injured people from the devastated village.

Television reports showed relatives wailing as they watched rescuers pull mud-caked bodies from a room at a buried house in Harang Julu village.

Seasonal rain from about October to March frequently causes flooding and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile flood plains.

Last December, 12 people were swept away to Lake Toba or buried under tons of mud after heavy rains triggered flash floods and landslides in mountainside villages in North Sumatra province. Only one of them was found dead and 11 others remain unaccounted for.

The 440-square-mile Lake Toba formed out of an ancient super volcano, is a popular sightseeing destination on the island of Sumatra and an area the government aims to develop as a magnet for international tourists.