Landslides in Indonesia's Java island leave 3 dead and 20 missing

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JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian rescuers were searching Friday for people who went missing in landslides triggered by torrential rains on Indonesia ’s Java island. Authorities reported three confirmed deaths with 20 others missing.

Several days of heavy rainfall in the region caused the landslides that hit dozens of houses in three villages in Indonesia’s Central Java province on Thursday evening.

Indonesian authorities said they plan to evacuate residents from 28 houses in the landslide-prone area, according to a statement released by the National Disaster Management Agency on Friday.

“We are going to evacuate those in vulnerable areas so that they leave their homes before any further landslides happen and cause additional casualties,” said Suharyanto, the chief of the agency. He said 200 rescuers and heavy equipment were deployed in the search.

Footage released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed rescuers searching for victims buried under the rubble of houses.

Rescuers reported the discovery of a third body on Friday and said they were still searching for 20 others.

“The unstable ground conditions posed a challenge for the search and rescue team in searching for victims during the golden hour,” the disaster management agency's spokesman Abdul Muhari said in a statement.

Rescuers used heavy equipment, extraction tools and manual tools to reach difficult areas.

Heavy seasonal rain from about October to March frequently causes flooding and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile floodplains.

In January, more than 20 residents were killed after being swept away in floods and landslides after torrential rains in Central Java province.