Indonesian landslide: Death toll rises to 20

Jakarta, July 24: Rescue teams struggled today to reach parts of Indonesia's Sulawesi island where 20 people have died and 8,000 displaced by landslides and floods caused by days of torrential rains.

Rescuers are searching for 52 people missing in the landslides that have buried hundreds of homes in Baturube and Bungku Utara districts, which lie about 1,700 km northeast of the capital, officials said.

Bad weather and difficult access are hampering rescue efforts in the region where several villages have been cut off by the floods, Rustam Pakaya, head of the health crisis centre in Jakarta, told sources.

Jakarta had sent a team of doctors with medication, baby food, instant noodles and tents, but Pakaya said he feared bad weather was likely to delay help to the area, which is six hours by boat from the nearest town.

''About 8,000 have been evacuated, but many thousands are still in the area and need to be moved,'' said Setio Sutarmo, an official with the country's national coordinating body for disaster management.

''Yesterday we only had 60 rescuers from the local search and rescue unit and the police. Back up is on the way, but it takes time to reach the area.'' Deadly landslides occur frequently in Indonesia, where tropical downpours can quickly soak hillsides where years of deforestation often means there is little vegetation to hold the soil.

Reuters>