JAKARTA: Indonesian rescuers on Friday searched for survivors buried in three cars and bus at the base of a cliff after flash floods and landslides in North Sumatra province killed at least 29 people.
Torrential rain for the past week in the province has triggered flash floods and landslides in four different districts, Indonesia’s disaster agency has said.
The death toll from one landslide on Wednesday on a hilly interprovince road rose to nine from seven, Hadi Wahyudi, the spokesperson of North Sumatra police told Reuters on Friday.
At least five cars, one bus, and one truck were trapped at the base of a cliff following the landslide. On Friday, police and rescuers focused their search for missing people on three cars and one bus buried in mud.
“We still don’t know how many people who were still trapped,” Hadi said.
In other districts, landslides over the weekend killed 20 people and rescuers will keep searching for two missing people until Saturday.
Flash floods hit the provincial city of Medan on Friday although waters have receded in some areas, said Sariman Sitorus, spokesperson for the local search agency.
The floods forced a delay in votes for regional elections in some areas in Medan on Wednesday.
Extreme weather is expected in Indonesia toward the end of 2024, as the La Nina phenomenon increases rainfalls across the tropical archipelago, the country’s weather agency has warned.
Indonesian rescuers search for missing in buried cars and bus after landslide in Sumatra
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Indonesian rescuers search for missing in buried cars and bus after landslide in Sumatra
- The death toll from one landslide on Wednesday on a hilly interprovince road rose to nine from seven
- Flash floods hit the provincial city of Medan on Friday although waters have receded in some areas
Russia urges UK to disclose what soldier killed in Ukraine was doing, accuses London of wider role
- Britain’s Ministry of Defense said the soldier died in Ukraine while observing Ukrainian forces test a new defensive capability
- Zakharova said the British government should not deceive its citizens
MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that Britain needed to disclose what a British soldier killed in Ukraine on Tuesday was really doing there, accusing London of helping Kyiv carry out “acts of terrorism.”
Britain’s Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday that the soldier, Lance Corporal George Hooley, died in Ukraine while observing Ukrainian forces test a new defensive capability away from the frontline.
Zakharova said the British government should not deceive its citizens by claiming that British soldiers sent to Ukraine were mere advisers or instructors, accusing British forces of helping Kyiv “carry out terrorist attacks and extremist tasks” on London’s direct orders.
Zakharova, who said Russia would regard any foreign military contingents in Ukraine as legitimate targets, did not set out evidence to back up her accusations of alleged wider UK involvement.
The British government, one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters, has never confirmed how many service personnel are in Ukraine but the BBC has reported that a small contingent is supporting Ukrainian forces and is providing security to diplomatic staff.
