Indonesian landslide kills nine with 10 missing

JAKARTA: At least nine people have died and 10 are missing after a landslide caused by torrential rains swept away several homes in Indonesia, officials said Monday, with hundreds forced to flee their flooded homes.

Twenty-one people were initially reported missing after the disaster struck Sunday evening in a rural part of East Java.

Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency said it had found nine bodies, but was still searching for 10 others.

The other two people had been rescued.

"We cannot bring heavy equipment to the site of the landslides currently. However, we are currently trying to make our way," the East Java Search and Rescue Agency told AFP in a written statement.

The landslide also seriously damaged eight houses, said the agency.

Pasuruan, a town in the province, was also flooded after a river overflowed due to the heavy rains, forcing more than 350 people to flee their homes, the agency added.

Fatal landslides and flash floods are common across the Indonesian archipelago, where seasonal downpours are frequent and relentless.

In January at least 21 people died and more than 60,000 fled the area after a series of major floods hit South Kalimantan.