The people were excavating the hill for sand and stones when they were struck by a landslide, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, chief of the data and information center and public relations service of the National Disaster Mitigation Board, noted here on Monday.
Nugroho believes that more people are still buried under the sand, but their number is still unknown.
"The BPBN office in Magelang District, along with the military, police, Basarnas (National Search and Rescue Agency), fire department personnel, volunteers, and local residents are using heavy-duty equipment to search for the bodies of the victims," he noted.
This landslide is not the first of its kind to have affected sand miners in the district.
Despite frequent landslides, the residents have continued to excavate sand.
"Of course, it is very dangerous (to excavate sand), the more so, as heavy rainfall will easily trigger a landslide," he pointed out.
Four of the eight victims were Zaenudin, Iwan Dwi, Suparno, and Heri Setiawan, while four victims were still being identified.
At least eight people had survived the landslide.
Reported by Anom Prihantoro
(T.S012/B/KR-BSR/B/H-YH)
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
