Indonesia floods kill 17 people

Rescuers are still searching for four missing students following a landslide at an Indonesian waterfall after 17 bodies were found.

Rescuers have found the bodies of 17 people who were among 20 university students and two guides missing in rain-triggered floods and landslides at a popular waterfall in Indonesia.

One student was found alive and was being treated at a hospital, said Darwin Surbakti, an official from the local Disaster Management Agency.

The search for the four people still missing was to resume on Tuesday.

"Rescuers have discovered 17 bodies, of which 14 have been recovered while three others are still under the rubble," Surbakti said.

The disaster occurred on Sunday as more than 70 students were visiting the Dua Warna waterfall in Sibolangit in North Sumatra province.

Six bodies were found about 3km downstream from the waterfall, Surbakti said.

In Jakarta, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency, said 300 rescuers including soldiers, police and teams from the National Search and Rescue Agency had been mobilised to search for the victims.