Bandung, W Java (ANTARA) - The death toll in Sumedang landslides rose to 32 as three more bodies were discovered by a joint search and rescue team.on Sunday, while eight people remained missing, according to a local official.
"The bodies were sent to Sawah Dadap Community Health Center for identification. The death toll has reached 32 so far," Deden Ridwansyah, head of the Bandung Search and Rescue (SAR) Office, said here on Sunday. The search team continued to look for the remaining eight missing victims who were buried under landslide mud, he said.
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Incessant rains hampered the search operations which had to be carried out carefully and vigilantly because of possible subsequent landslides, as the Geological Agency warned that there were still cracks in several landslide locations.
The joint team used four heavy equipment in the process of evacuating victims, which was expected to last until the next few days.
Two consecutive landslides triggered by incessant heavy rains, hit Cihanjuang Village, Cimanggung Sub-district, Sumedang District, West Java, on January 9, displacing 1,020 people and destroying several houses.
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