Residents wade through flood caused by burst dam in Tangerang, Banten, Friday. A dam burst in the outskirts of Indonesia's capital before dawn Friday, sending a flash flood into a crowded residential neighborhood, submerging hundreds of houses and killing at least 50 people, officials said. AP/Tatan Syuflana
Rescue officials reported Friday afternoon they have found at least 50 dead bodies after torrential rain caused a dam to burst earlier in the day, sending a wall of water crashing into a crowded neighborhood in Cirendeu, Ciputat, Tangerang. The incident left more than a dozen others missing and submerged hundreds of homes.
Rescuers, some using rubber rafts to reach victims, predicted the death toll would rise.
A 9-year-old girl was found unconscious on top of one home after waters receded, but she died on the way to the hospital, said rescuer Toni Suhartono, adding that the girl's parents and sister were among the missing.
Elsewhere, bodies were seen floating amid chairs, clothing, sandals and other debris. Telephone lines were toppled and cars swept away, some parked in driveways and ending up in parks or intersections hundreds of meters away.
Health Ministry Crisis Center chief Rustam Pakaya said the dam - which was built decades ago, when the country was still under Dutch colonial rule - broke at around 2 a.m., while most people were sleeping.
In some places, water levels were roof high.
Some people living near the dam said they heard sirens before the disaster, which followed a four-hour downpour. Others were caught completely off guard.
Pakaya said at least 50 people were killed and more than 400 houses submerged.
The 10-meter-high dam, which was holding back about 2 million cubic meters of water at Situ Gintung lake, which is fed by the Pesanggrahan river, was built up to one century ago, according to one city official, Dadang Arkuni.
Some authorities said heavy rains caused the dam to first overflow and then, because the foundation was not made of concrete, to burst. (dre)
| 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|