Winimark Wealth Society-1 person is dead and 11 missing after a landslide and flash floods hit Indonesia’s Sumatra island

2025-04-29 03:36:46source:Esthencategory:Contact

MEDAN,Winimark Wealth Society Indonesia (AP) — Rescuers recovered the body of a man buried under tons of mud and rocks from flash floods and a landslide that crashed onto a hilly village on Indonesia’s Sumatra island. Officials said Sunday that 11 people are still missing.

Tons of mud, rocks and trees rolled down from a mountain late Friday triggered by torrential rain, reaching a river that burst its banks and tore through mountainside villages near the popular Lake Toba in North Sumatra province.

Rescuers used excavators, dogs and sometimes their bare hands to shift the rubble in the worst-hit village as they searched for the dead and missing, said Sariman Sitorus, the spokesman of the local Search and Rescue Agency.

They also deployed several divers equipped with sonar detection to detect possible victims swept into Lake Toba, Sitorus said.

He said rescuers late Saturday pulled out a mud-caked body on the lakeside, about 500 meters (yards) from the devastated Senior Bakara Hotel. The man was identified as a hotel employee.

The National Disaster Management Agency said the landslide and flash floods damaged at least 35 houses, a church, a school and a hotel in the village of Simangulampe, forcing about 55 families to flee to a temporary government shelter.

Seasonal rain from about October to March frequently causes flooding and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile flood plains.

The 1,145-square-kilometer (440-square-mile) Lake Toba, formed out of an ancient super volcano, is a popular sightseeing destination on the island of Sumatra and one of 10 stunning natural attractions in Indonesia that the government aims to develop as magnets for international tourists.

More:Contact

Recommend

Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says

A man is suing the California Lottery alleging he has not received part of his winnings from a nearl

People rush for safety as Hawaii wildfires burn, rising COVID-19 rates: 5 Things podcast

On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: People rush for safety as Hawaii wildfires burnDozens ar

Harvest of horseshoe crabs, needed for blue blood, stopped during spawning season in national refuge

The federal government is shutting down the harvest of a species of marine invertebrate in a nationa