Tragic reports have confirmed a fatal landslide that took place on the Indonesian island of Java.
This led to massive destruction of villages, burying homes under nearly 10 to 25 feet of mud and debris. Sources shared how rescue and relief service teams were immediately dispatched and included more than 500 strong individuals who had to dig through difficult and unstable terrain to reach any potential survivors and victims.
They were accompanied by sniffer dogs and 22 excavators to locate the survivors. So far, at least 18 people have lost their lives, and 34 remain missing as per local authorities.
In those villages that were worst hit, rescuers were seen racing against the clock and contending with difficult conditions. Some of the victims were said to have been buried nearly 8 meters deep, making this entire recovery process very hard. The scale as well as the depth of this damage led teams not only to rely on heavy machinery but also some thermal drones, manual equipment, and water pumps.
To support the operation, the country’s disaster unit has also enlisted a cloud seeding plane to try and stabilize the poor weather by redirecting the rainfall away from areas affected by this calamity.
Families in this region were said to be gripped by anguish as they watched rescuers dig helplessly for signs of life.