Rescue workers stepped up a hunt on Friday for victims of landslides and floods that claimed scores of lives on Indonesia's Java Island and left thousands homeless, an official said. The landslides smashed through homes, burying families alive, in the early hours of Wednesday after monsoon rains lashed Central and East Java provinces this week and also triggered devastating floods.
More than 1 000 rescue workers resumed a search for bodies for a third day on Friday in Central Java's worst-hit Karanganyar district, the head of the local disaster management centre, Heru Aji Pratomo, said. "We have intensified the search today [Friday] by deploying more rescuers," he said.
So far 49 bodies have been pulled from wreckage, with about 17 people still missing, Pratomo said. Pratomo said that more earth-movers were expected to arrive in the hilly region soon. Landslides blocked their way initially, but then winding roads and poor weather hindered the progress of more heavy-duty equipment, he said. "We have a small-scale excavator to help the search, but more will be arriving today," he said.
| Oxfam is no doubt on the scene, putting on plays for the survivors. |
| There's never a bad time to promote gender equality. |
| "We just flew in from London and boy! are our arms tired!" |
| "I said, 'Mullah, mullah! It hoits when I pray like dis!' He said 'Don't pray like dat!'" |
An Agence France-Presse correspondent at the scene said that the bodies of a couple and two children were extracted from deep mud on Friday morning. He said about half the workers were troops drafted in from the military commands in nearby districts. |