Rescuers recover more bodies from landslide in Indonesia, with 72 still missing

BANDUNG, Indonesia (AP) — Improved weather on Sunday helped rescuers on Indonesia's main island of Java recover more bodies as they dug through mud and debris in search of scores of missing in a landslide that killed more than two dozen villagers.

The predawn landslide on the slopes of Mount Burangrang in West Java province on Saturday buried some 34 houses in Pasir Langu village. On Sunday, 72 people remained missing, many feared buried under tons of mud, rocks and uprooted trees. About 230 residents living near the site were evacuated to government shelters.

A 250-member search team on Sunday collected victims' remains, including body parts, in 14 body bags, bringing the total recovered to 25, said Ade Dian Permana, who heads the local search and rescue office. They will be released to relatives once they are identified by forensic experts.

Videos released by the search agency showed rescuers using farm tools and bare hands to pull a body from the mud. Permana said that loose ground on the slope prevented heavy equipment from being deployed. He estimated mounds of mud were to be up to 5 meters (16 feet) high, saying "our teams must move carefully.”

“Some homes are buried up to the roof level,” he added.

The head of the National Search and Rescue Agency, Mohammad Syafii, said teams were also using drones and K-9s to locate bodies along the landslide that stretched more than 2 kilometers (1.2 miles).

Visiting the area on Sunday, Indonesian Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka pledged that authorities would take measures to prevent similar disasters. He urged the local authorities in West Bandung district to "address the issue of land conversion in disaster-prone areas,” including ways to reduce risks.

Environmental activists previously have said the deadly landslide in West Bandung district was not simply a natural disaster triggered by heavy rain, but the result of years of environmental degradation due to land conversion for development that violated land‑use rules in the region.

Wahyudin Iwang of Walhi West Java, an Indonesian environmental group, said Saturday’s landslide — which struck while residents were asleep — reflected longstanding neglect of spatial‑planning regulations in the North Bandung Area, or KBU, a conservation zone spanning about 38,543 hectares across four cities and regencies in West Java, including West Bandung.

He said the protected highland area functions as a critical water‑catchment zone and environmental buffer for the Bandung Basin, one of Indonesia’s most densely populated regions.

“This landslide is the accumulation of activities that were not in line with spatial planning and environmental functions,” Iwang said.

At a makeshift relief center, villagers gathered, reading updated lists of the missing and waiting for news on relatives. Rescue officials said the operation will continue nonstop as long as conditions allow, but warned that more rain could further destabilize the slope.

Seasonal rains and high tides from about October to April frequently cause flooding and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile floodplains.

In this photo released by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), rescuers search for victims in Pasir Langu village after a landslide, in West Bandung district of West Java province, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (BASARNAS via AP)

In this photo released by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), rescuers search for victims in Pasir Langu village after a landslide, in West Bandung district of West Java province, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (BASARNAS via AP)

In this photo released by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), rescuers search for victims in Pasir Langu village after a landslide, in West Bandung district of West Java province, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (BASARNAS via AP)

In this photo released by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), rescuers search for victims in Pasir Langu village after a landslide, in West Bandung district of West Java province, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (BASARNAS via AP)

In this photo released by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), an aerial shot taken using a drone shows an area affected by landslides in Pasir Langu village, in West Bandung district of West Java province, Indonesia, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (BASARNAS via AP)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Defending champion Madison Keys has been knocked out of the Australian Open by fellow American, and podcast pal, Jessica Pegula.

Pegula, seeded sixth, defeated the ninth-seeded Keys 6-3, 6-4 on Monday at Rod Laver Arena to reach the quarterfinals. Pegula, who has never claimed a Grand Slam, won the first set in only 32 minutes.

Pegula raced to a 4-1 lead in the first set, and Pegula also broke to open the second set and again surged to a 4-1 lead as Keys struggled with her serve. The match ended when Keys hit a forehand into the net.

“I’ve been playing really well, seeing the ball, hitting the ball really well this whole tournament, and I wanted to stay true to that,” said 31-year-old Pegula. “Then just lean into a couple things that I felt like she would do, and I felt like I came out doing it pretty well

“When I had the lead I tried to stick with that as much as I could.

“Even when she got a little rhythm back, I just really tried to focus on what I needed to do and patterns to look out for.”

Pegula and Keys had played three times previously, and Keys had won the last two. But on Monday it was Pegula that had the upper hand almost throughout on the back of her serve accuracy and few unforced errors.

It will Pegula's fourth appearance in the quarterfinals in Australia. Her best performance in a major was making the U.S. Open final in 2024, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka.

In a later match Monday at Rod Laver Arena, fifth-seeded man Lorenzo Musetti faced American Taylor Fritz, who is seeded No. 9.

In night matches, second-ranked Iga Świątek was up against Australian Maddison Inglis, and the eighth-seeded man Ben Shelton faced Casper Ruud.

Novak Djokovic was due to be the feature night match at Rod Laver Arena on Monday but has had a walkover into the quarterfinals after his opponent Jakub Mensik withdrew from their scheduled fourth-round match with an abdominal injury.

Jessica Pegula, left, of the U.S., is congratulated by her compatriot Madison Keys after winning their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Madison Keys of the U.S. plays a backhand return to her compatriot Jessica Pegula during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Jessica Pegula of the U.S. plays a backhand return to her compatriot Madison Keys during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Madison Keys of the U.S. reacts during her fourth round match against her compatriot Jessica Pegula at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Jessica Pegula of the U.S. plays a backhand return to her compatriot Madison Keys during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)