Rescuers have used heavy digging equipment to clear a muddy landslide that killed at least 15 people and left 57 buried on Indonesia's main island of Java, an official says.
Days of heavy rain prompted the landslide on Tuesday afternoon at a mountainous tea plantation near the village of Tenjoljaya in Ciwidey district of West Java province, destroying scores of homes.
Dozens of soldiers and police officers plus two excavators bolstered search efforts on Wednesday and 15 bodies had been recovered from a vast pile of clay by the afternoon, National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono said.
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He said another 15 people had been injured, two of whom had been admitted to hospital.
Terrain hampering efforts
The winding mountain roads made boggy by the days of heavy rain were hampering efforts to get equipment and rescuers to the scene, he said, adding that more landslides were possible.
"Some 600 villagers from the region have been evacuated to temporary shelters in safer locations", Kardono said.
Most of these were from unaffected nearby villages that were in landslide-prone areas.
Kardono said 25 people were believed to have died in the plantation's factory and office.
Over 50 still trapped
"We've pulled out seven bodies from the landslide. We believe 64 are still trapped," West Java police spokesman Dade Ahmad said on Wednesday, updating the overnight toll after heavy rains triggered the landslide in Bandung district on Tuesday.
"The landslide is very deep. At this point, the chance of pulling out victims alive is slim," Ahmad said.
About 500 rescuers, including officers from the Brimob special police force, are searching for victims buried on the tea plantation near Ciwidey village, about 35km southwest of Bandung city.
"We have six sniffer dogs on site and rescuers are digging manually using hoes and light cutting equipment to reach victims," Ahmad added.
"We are still trying to bring in the heavy earth-moving equipment. It's difficult to get to the area, which is on a steep slope," he said.
