Search for 32 people missing in Indonesia landslide hampered by rain as death toll rises to 34

JAKARTA, Jan 28 (Reuters) – Search operations for the 32 people still missing after a landslide in Indonesia’s West Java were hampered by rain on Wednesday morning, the country’s disaster mitigation agency said, as it raised the death toll to 34.

The landslide hit Pasir Langu village in Bandung Barat region early on Saturday, triggered by heavy rains starting a day earlier.

The village was located in a hilly area of the province about 100 km (62.14 miles) southeast of Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta.

“It’s raining in the landslide site this morning but all the rescuers are ready to continue the search, waiting for the right timing,” the agency’s spokesperson Abdul Muhari told Reuters.

The death toll rose to 34 from the previous count of 20. Another 23 people survived the disaster.

Twenty-three soldiers were killed while conducting border patrol training, the Indonesian Navy said on Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear whether the latest death toll included those soldiers, Muhari said.

A team is currently working at the scene to identify the bodies found by rescuers, Muhari added.

At least 800 rescuers, military and police personnel along with nine excavators have been deployed to find the remaining missing people.

Nearly 700 residents of the stricken village have been evacuated to local government buildings, the agency said earlier.

(Reporting by Ananda Teresia; Editing by David Stanway)