03 December 2015•Update: 05 December 2015
By Ainur Rohmah
JAKARTA
Authorities have recovered three bodies and a further 15 people are reported missing after a landslide buried a village in Western Indonesia on Thursday.
Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a statement that two days of heavy rains had triggered the incident in Lebong Tandai Village, North Bengkulu.
"It is estimated that 18 people working in fields close to their homes were buried," said Nugroho, along with around 20 houses.
He added that the victims were farmers working on durian crops, and they had been buried in an avalanche of soil, stone, and trees.
"Up until now the bodies of three people have been evacuated."
Nugroho added that the location of those buried was diffucult to reach and heavy equipment had been brought in to dig through the debris.
Police, military personnel, local government and volunteers were helping to evacuate other victims.
The agency warned that rainfall would likely increase over coming days, and predicted extremely high levels come January.
