After a landslide struck a hillside town on Indonesia’s isolated Natuna islands, more remains were discovered by rescuers buried beneath tons of mud, increasing the death toll to 30, authorities said on Thursday.
The National Search and Rescue Agency reported that the landslide, which was caused by torrential rains, buried 30 houses in Genting village on a small remote island in the Natuna archipelago at the edge of the South China Sea on Monday.
According to Abdul Rahman, who is in charge of Natuna’s search and rescue operations, authorities have sent out nearly 700 rescuers, including police and military with heavy equipment, to look for 24 people still missing who were reportedly trapped in homes buried under the landslide, which was 4 meters (13 feet) deep.