Missing villager in Cianjur landslide found dead

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 11/15/2008 12:08 PM  |  National

A victim who reportedly went missing in the Girimukti landslide in Cianjur, West Java, on Thursday, was found dead Saturday morning.

The body of local resident Ukam, 70, was recovered at the same location where four other victims were found, Campaka subdistrict chief Rohyanda told Kompas.com.

According to Rohyanda, the five victimes were assumed to have been together prior to the landslide incident.

As of the time of writing, seven other victims are still missing.

The Girimukti landslide, which injured 4 residents, occurred Thursday evening after the village and another nearby, Cibokore, faced four hours of heavy torrential rain.

The Cianjur regency administration estimated Friday that water and mud had damaged at least 77 houses, and had dragged four others into the Cihanjuang river.

The villages of Girimukti and Cibokore sit in a deep valley some 70 kilometers from the West Java provincial capital of Bandung.

The landslide forced some 600 villagers to evacuate to safety, which for many lay in Girimukti Village Hall.

Suryakencana Regional Military Command chief Col. Amrid Salas Kembaren previously told The Jakarta Post that evacuation would continue over the next couple of days as would efforts to find the dead and to collect villagers’ belongings.

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