JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian rescuers on Friday paused search efforts because of bad weather as the death toll from a landslide on Java island three days ago rose to at least 25 people, said a spokesperson for the local rescuers.
Torrential rain in the city of Pekalongan in Central Java province triggered the landslide on Tuesday, and hundreds of rescuers were deployed to the area.
Spokesperson Zulhawari Agustianto told Reuters rescuers had to stop work because of heavy rain and fog.
He said three more people had been found before the search was suspended, raising the death toll to 25. Officials on Tuesday put the number of dead at 17.
Zulhawari did not respond to questions on the number of people still missing.
The landslide occurred on a main road connecting Pekalongan to Dieng plateau, a popular tourist area.
Rescuers were being forced to walk about 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) to get into the site because the road was inaccessible. An excavator has also been deployed to clear the mudslide.
Separately, Indonesian authorities seeded clouds with salt on Friday to prevent more rainfall in Central Java, the country’s disaster agency said.
Java is Indonesia’s most densely populated island.
(Reporting by Ananda Teresia; Writing by Stanley Widianto; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
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