Village Buried in Indonesian Landslide

|PIC1|A landslide has buried a village in Cijeruk, central Indonesia on Wednesday, leaving more than 170 people missing and many of which feared dead.

The landslide occurred following a day of heavy rains, and left an entire village under mud and rock.

Nearby residents were desperately digging for survivors of the disaster with their bare hands, report AP.

Scores of injured and wounded were taken away via helicopters to Jember in the east where flash floods this week also claimed 77 victims.

Many people are also reported to have evacuated the hit area after hearing a deep rumbling sound from the 50m-high hill earlier in the day, witnesses told.

One survivor, Sujiman, 18 explained, “It was so fast ... first it sounded like a jet plane and then it got louder and louder. We ran in the darkness to the main road.”

|TOP|On Wednesday evening, it was reported that just 14 bodies had been recovered from the disaster zone, but many other villagers remained missing.

Meanwhile in the Jember district another 14 bodies were discovered, bringing the number killed by the flash floods earlier in the week to 77, reported Edi Susilo, a local government spokesman.

The local government and faith leaders have already begun providing food, shelter to more than 5,400 people made homeless from the floods.

Heavy tropical downpours cause dozens of landslides and flash floods each year in Indonesia, where millions of people live in mountainous regions and near fertile flood plains close to rivers, report AP.