Death toll from Indonesia landslide rises to 50

The death toll from a landslide on a remote Indonesian island, according to officials on Wednesday, has risen to 50 with four people still missing on the last day of the search.

The landslide that struck the island of Serasan on March 6 had resulted in the death of scores of residents in a village while a number of others were displaced.

The local search and rescue teams scouring the island, located in the Natuna region between Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia, said no fewer than eight of the people confirmed dead were children.

The local authorities also noted that about 3,000 residents displaced by the incident have been evacuated to several places.

A local government spokesperson, Patli Muhamad, said: “Until yesterday 50 people have been found dead, 49 of them have been identified while four others are still missing.

Read also:18 confirmed dead, multiple missing as landslide buries Malaysian campsite

“They are afraid to go home because there are total blackouts in some villages”, he added.

Meanwhile, plans are underway to determine whether to extend the search and rescue operation, as officials meet later on Wednesday.

Another landslide triggered by heavy rains, according to Disaster Management Agency on Wednesday, hit the city of Bogor, just outside the capital of Jakarta, late on Tuesday.

At least two people were killed and four others are still buried under the mud.

It has been said that the country’s weather related disasters can be worsened by climate change.

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