"Based on preliminary data, 14 people have been found dead, while 10 others have gone missing in Mandailing Natal," BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said here on Saturday.
He noted that 11 school students in Muara Saladi, Ulu Pungkut sub-district, died on Friday evening after being buried by debris in their school, which was hit by the flash flood.
Officials report that the Aek Saladi river overflowed, with a very strong current carrying mud, as the school was still in session.
Some of the students died after being buried by mud or debris caused by the flood. "The number of missing people may still change, as it has not been verified," Sutopo said.
He added that two more bodies were found on Saturday, after a car carrying them plunged into the river and was carried away.
"One of the bodies belongs to a policeman and another to an employee of PT Bank Sumut. Two others in the car were saved," he said.
Reporting by Munawar Mandailing
Editing by Yoseph Hariyadi
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Otniel Tamindael
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
