BANJARNEGARA, Indonesia — Heavy rains in central Indonesia loosened soil and collapsed a hill, setting off a landslide that killed at least 20 villagers and left 88 others missing under piles of mud, officials said Sunday.
Residents of Jemblung village in Central Java province's Banjarnegara district said they heard a roaring sound followed by the rain of red soil that buried more than 100 houses late Friday.
"The landslide looked like it was spinning down. I managed to rescue a pregnant woman, but could not save the other man," said Subroto, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.
He said one side of the hill collapsed and then another. "In five minutes, there were three (major landslides) and they swept away everything," he said.
By Sunday, 20 bodies have been pulled from the mud and the wreckage of crumpled homes while hopes faded that 88 people still missing will be find alive, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesman for Indonesia's Disaster Mitigation Agency.
President Joko Widodo was traveling to Banjarnegara, about 460 kilometers (285 miles) east of the capital, Jakarta, on Sunday to meet with survivors and about 570 residents who were evacuated to temporary shelters. Eleven injured villagers were hospitalized.
Nugroho, a spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said Saturday that some rescuers heard what sounded like calls for help coming from the debris, but they didn't have equipment to dig. "Mud, rugged terrain and bad weather hampered our rescue efforts," Nugroho said.
Tractors and bulldozers were later brought in.
