JAKARTA: Indonesian rescue teams said on Saturday they had ended the search for more than a dozen people missing after a landslide near an illegal gold mine killed at least 27 people.
A week ago, a remote village in Bone Balango district, Central Sulawesi, was hit by a landslide after heavy rains.
Rescue officials said the search effort had been called off and 15 people were still missing, with the death toll possibly rising.
“Search and rescue teams have been working for seven days following standard operating procedures and today is the last day,” the head of a local search and rescue team, who gave his name as “Heliyanto”, told AFP.
“Traces of the missing victims have been found with valid and accurate evidence and, at the request of the Bone Balango government, an evacuation operation will be carried out.”
He said police had consulted with the families of the missing before calling off the search.
Hundreds of police and soldiers were deployed to the rescue effort, but the effort was hampered by bad weather and damage to a nearby bridge, which forced rescuers to continue on foot.
Search and rescue officials had previously said some of the victims were miners, but others were running street stalls near the mine.
Indonesia is prone to landslides during the rainy season, which runs from November to April, but July is usually dry and heavy rains are rare.
In May, landslides and floods hit South Sulawesi province, washing away dozens of homes, destroying roads and killing at least 15 people.
A landslide occurred in the same state a month ago, killing 20 people.
A week ago, a remote village in Bone Balango district, Central Sulawesi, was hit by a landslide after heavy rains.
Rescue officials said the search effort had been called off and 15 people were still missing, with the death toll possibly rising.
“Search and rescue teams have been working for seven days following standard operating procedures and today is the last day,” the head of a local search and rescue team, who gave his name as “Heliyanto”, told AFP.
“Traces of the missing victims have been found with valid and accurate evidence and, at the request of the Bone Balango government, an evacuation operation will be carried out.”
He said police had consulted with the families of the missing before calling off the search.
Hundreds of police and soldiers were deployed to the rescue effort, but the effort was hampered by bad weather and damage to a nearby bridge, which forced rescuers to continue on foot.
Search and rescue officials had previously said some of the victims were miners, but others were running street stalls near the mine.
Indonesia is prone to landslides during the rainy season, which runs from November to April, but July is usually dry and heavy rains are rare.
In May, landslides and floods hit South Sulawesi province, washing away dozens of homes, destroying roads and killing at least 15 people.
A landslide occurred in the same state a month ago, killing 20 people.
