TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Three individuals have reportedly been missing in a landslide that hit Sumberbaru sub-district, Jember District in East Java. “We will continue searching this morning,” a local official told Tempo in a phone interview this morning.
The landslide took place at 7:30 pm after heavy rain that had hit the region since Monday afternoon. A home was destroyed and another was buried in a landslide that night. The three missing persons stayed under the same roof when the landslide struck. Two cattle and 12 goats were also buried in the incident.
“The main priority is to find three victims buried in the landslide. The next one is to clean up the rubble,” the official said.
He added that local authorities have warned residents of more landslides in the area.
The sub-district administration has prepared an evacuation shelter at Jambersari Village Hall. Some evacuees, however, opted to spend the night at their relatives’ homes in the village.
DAVID PRIYASIDARTA