Landslide kills 7 in Indonesia, 15 missing

JAKARTA, June 20 (Reuters) A landslide caused by heavy rain on Indonesia's Sulawesi island has killed seven people, while another 15 are missing, an official said today.

Torrential rains are a regular feature of tropical Indonesia, with deadly landslides a frequent occurrence. Rampant logging often adds to the ease with which hillsides collapse, environmentalists say.

The landslide in South Sulawesi's Sinjai regency occurred in the early morning hours, Abdul Gani, a communications officer at the Search and Rescue office in Makassar said by telephone.

''The landslide has caused seven people to die. Fifteen others are missing,'' Gani said.

He said two days of rain caused the landslide as well as flooding in several regencies in South Sulawesi province.

South Sulawesi capital Makassar is 1,400 km (870 miles) east of Jakarta.

REUTERS KD KP1645