Indonesia Landslide Kills 14, Buries Houses

[senorpepr]

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Mud swept down an Indonesian mountain killing 14 people, including children and a pregnant woman, and flattening several houses after hours of torrential rain, an official said Friday.

The landslide occurred late Thursday when the mud surged through two villages in Purworejo regency, in Central Java province. At least five of those killed were children under 10 years old.

"Some of them were buried in dirt in their houses so we couldn't rescue them. Others died after coconut and durian trees fell down on them," said Sunarto, head of Purworejo's social department.

"In Keseneng village, families inside four houses were killed. Their residences were flattened and the victims include a woman who has been pregnant for nine months, two small children and a 63-year old elder," he said.

The victims' houses were at the foot of the mountain, Sunarto said.

Landslides are common in the Indonesian rainy season -- which runs from October to April -- as large areas of forest cover have been cleared from slopes, leaving them unstable, particularly when they get waterlogged.

About 170 people, including several foreign tourists, were killed when landslides hit the North Sumatra resort area of Bahorok in November. Officials blamed that disaster on illegal logging.