The death toll from a landslide in Cisarua, West Bandung Regency, West Java, rose to 34 on Monday as Indonesian rescue teams were stepping up their efforts to search for dozens of people still believed to be trapped under thick mud and debris.
According to the disaster management agency in West Bandung, more than 300 rescue personnel have been currently deployed in the disaster area, including teams from West Java's emergency services, the military and the police.
Additional rescuers have also been dispatched from neighboring provinces to support the search operations.
"With the increase in the number of rescue and search personnel today, we hope the rescue efforts can go deeper and become more effective. Meanwhile, the national search and rescue agency has dispatched additional teams from Yogyakarta, while rescuers from Central Java have also joined the operation," said Asep Sehabudin, head of the West Bandung disaster management agency.
Family members of the victims and local volunteers have also joined forces in the rescue and search efforts, hoping to assist the authorities in any way they can.
Villager Asep Heri said he had lost four relatives, his uncle and aunt, as well as their children, in the disaster. He was among the volunteers trying to find his daughter.
"I will continue searching until my child is found. No matter the circumstances, I will stay here and keep searching. The bodies of my uncle and aunt have already been found and buried," he said.
Local volunteers said the disaster had gravely affected nearby communities.
"My school is just about two kilometers from the landslide site. Several students and their family members, as well as the relatives of school staff, were among those killed. Helping in the rescue is what we, as volunteers, must do," said a volunteer named Muhamad Yunus Bahtiar.
The landslide on Saturday was triggered by heavy rainfall over two consecutive nights, which saturated steep slopes in the mountainous Cisarua area. Torrents of earth, rocks and uprooted trees swept through residential areas, plantations and forest land.
Indonesia frequently suffers from floods and landslides during the rainy season, which typically lasts from October to March.
Landslide death toll from Indonesia's West Java rises to 26 amid intensified search operations
