Landslides on Indonesia’s Sulawesi kill at least 14, search for missing hampered by bad weather

At least 14 people have been killed in landslides on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, the country’s disaster mitigation agency said on Sunday, with rescue efforts ongoing for those reported missing.

Landslides triggered by high-intensity rains affected two villages in the region of Tana Toraja, in South Sulawesi, killing 14 people and destroying four homes, Abdul Muhari, the spokesman for the agency said in a statement.

Search and rescue efforts for missing residents are continuing, he said, without providing details about how many were unaccounted for. Local media has reported that at least two people are missing.

Dozens of soldiers, police and volunteers joined the search in the villages of Makale and South Makale, in a remote, hilly area, Mundu said. Rescuers on Sunday managed to pull out two injured people, including an 8-year-old girl and rushed them to a nearby hospital.

Photos of affected villages provided by the agency showed rescuers trawling through the rubble for survivors, with homes flattened and reduced to planks of wood and concrete.

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Located in the centre of Sulawesi island, the mountainous region of Tana Toraja is about 300 kilometres (186 miles) from the provincial capital, Makassar. Tana Toraja has many popular tourist attractions, including a site with traditional houses and wooden statues of bodies buried in the caves, known as tau-tau.

Indonesia’s rainy season began in January with the meteorological agency forecasting a first-quarter peak, particularly on the islands of Java and Sumatra.

Additional reporting by Associated Press