JAKARTA: The death toll from a landslide in Indonesia climbed to 38 with dozens still missing, authorities said on Wednesday, days after a torrent of debris crashed through a mountain village.
Heavy rain triggered the landslide that barrelled through Pasirlangu on Saturday, wrecking dozens of homes and displacing hundreds.
A total of 38 victims had been identified by 6:30 p.m. (1130 GMT) on Wednesday, Ade Dian Permana, head of the Bandung Search and Rescue Agency, said in a statement.
The number of people still missing was revised down to 27, he said, from an earlier tally of 32.
Rescuers have been scouring the unstable area in Java island’s West Bandung region by hand and using heavy equipment.
But they are treading carefully for fear of more landslides due to severe weather.
The navy said on Monday that 23 troops, who were training in the area ahead of a deployment to Indonesia’s border with Papua New Guinea, were among those caught in the landslide.
The disaster seriously damaged more than 50 houses and displaced more than 650 people, according to local authorities.
West Java’s governor Dedi Mulyadi blamed the landslide on the sprawling plantations around Pasirlangu, which is mostly used to grow vegetables, and pledged to relocate affected residents.
The government has pointed to the role forest loss played in flooding and landslides on Sumatra island late last year, which killed around 1,200 people and displaced more than 240,000.
Forests help absorb rainfall and stabilize the ground held by their roots, and their absence makes areas more prone to landslides.
Such disasters are common across the vast Indonesian archipelago during the rainy season, which typically runs from October to March.
Indonesia landslide death toll rises to 38, dozens missing
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Indonesia landslide death toll rises to 38, dozens missing
- A total of 38 victims had been identified by 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday
- The number of people still missing was revised down to 27
Russia says two crew members from US-seized tanker released
- “Two Russian sailors have been released and are on their way home to Russia,” Zakharova said
- Russia announced earlier this month that the US had decided to release the Russian duo
MOSCOW: Moscow said Wednesday two Russian crew members of a tanker seized this month by the United States in the Atlantic had been released and were on their way home.
US authorities took over the Russian-flagged vessel earlier this month, alleging it was part of a shadow fleet carrying oil from countries such as Venezuela, Russia and Iran in violation of US sanctions.
The United States said publicly that the Marinera’s crew could be prosecuted. Russia said that would be “categorically unacceptable” and accused Washington of stoking tensions and threatening international shipping.
“Two Russian sailors have been released and are on their way home to Russia,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency on Wednesday.
Russia announced earlier this month that the United States had decided to release the two Russian crew members, but last week its Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the decision had not yet been implemented.
The captain and the first officer of the tanker have left UK waters, Solicitor General for Scotland, Ruth Charteris told a court hearing Tuesday, Press Association news agency reported.
“The captain and the first officer are now aboard the US Coast Guard vessel Munro and have departed the United Kingdom’s territorial sea,” Charteris said.
Twenty-six of the 28 crew have left the ship, officials told AFP. They were processed at a military site in Inverness, Scotland, the court was told, according to Press Association.
Five wanted to travel to the United States and 21 elsewhere. None have claimed asylum, the court heard.
“At the request of the US authorities, crew members have been allowed to disembark for onwards travel,” a UK government spokesperson told AFP Wednesday.
“They will be processed in line with all appropriate immigration and legal requirements.”
Britain was not involved in the movement of the other two crew members, the government said.
The United States seized the tanker, previously known as Bella 1, which was being escorted by the Russian navy, after chasing it from near the Venezuelan coast.
It was re-flagged and re-named to bring it under Russian jurisdiction in a bid to discourage the United States from trying to take it as part of its campaign against Venezuela.
