Landslide buries at least 31 in central Indonesia

TUBAN, Indonesia

Search and rescue teams have recovered a body from the landslide, Indonesia’s Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman said Saturday.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said that rescue teams have stopped the search Saturday afternoon for the day due to rain, following the recovery of the body.

He could not confirm the number of casualties however; Head of Emergency Section of Ponorogo's Disaster Management Agency, Setyo Budiono earlier said at least 31 people were believed to have been buried by the landslide.

Nugroho said the landslide occurred Saturday morning, when locals were harvesting ginger under a 100 meter high cliff in the Banaran village.

Local Mitigation Agency urged residents not to approach the disaster area due to soil conditions being unstable and the possibility of subsequent landslides.

Seasonal rains often cause flooding and landslides in Indonesia, which is comprised of a chain of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or flood-prone plains close to rivers.

The agency said at least 1,985 disasters occurred during 2016, killing a total of 375 people -- the worst death toll in 10 years.