The death toll from a March 6 landslide on a remote Indonesian island has risen to 50 with four people still missing, on the last scheduled day of the search, authorities said Wednesday.
The natural disaster which struck the island of Serasan led to the death of several dozen inhabitants of a village whose many houses were buried by mud and debris.
“As of yesterday (Tuesday), 50 people were found dead, 49 of whom have been identified while four others are still wanted,” local government spokesman Patli Muhamad told AFP.
At least eight of the victims are children, according to rescue teams deployed on the island in the Natuna region between Borneo and the Malay Peninsula.
Nearly 3,000 residents were evacuated to shelters.
“They are afraid to go home because the electricity is cut in some villages,” said the spokesperson.
The authorities were to decide on Wednesday evening a possible extension of the search, made difficult by the isolation of the island and the heavy rains.
Landslides are frequent during the rainy season in Indonesia where the situation is sometimes aggravated by deforestation and sustained heavy rains causing flooding in several regions.
Experts say climate change is making these disasters worse.
Another landslide caused by heavy rains occurred on Tuesday evening in Bogor, a city near the capital Jakarta.
At least two people are dead and four are missing, the disaster management agency said on Wednesday.