2 dead, 21 missing after deadly landslide in Indonesia
By AP, November 14, 2025Landslides triggered by torrential rains in Indonesia ’s Java island killed two people and left 21 others missing, officials said Friday. Rescuers are still searching for the 21 reported missing.
Several days of heavy rainfall in the region caused the landslides that hit dozens of houses in three villages in Indonesia’s Central Java province on Thursday evening, officials said in a statement.
“The unstable ground conditions posed a challenge for the search and rescue team in searching for victims during the golden hour. Nevertheless, the joint team continued their search and rescue efforts on Friday morning,” said National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari in the statement.
He added that heavy equipment was deployed to speed up the operation.
Footage released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed rescuers searching for victims buried under the rubble of the houses.
Rescuers are using heavy equipment, extraction tools and manual tools to reach difficult areas.
Heavy seasonal rain from about October to March frequently causes flooding and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile floodplains.
In January, more than 20 residents were killed after being swept away in floods and landslides after torrential rains in Central Java province.
Past incident
Indonesian rescuers recovered the bodies of at least 17 people who were swept away in flash floods or buried under tons of mud and rocks that hit hilly villages on the country’s main island of Java, officials said Tuesday. Eight people were missing.
Torrential rains on Monday caused rivers to burst their banks, tearing through nine villages in Pekalongan regency of Central Java province, as mud, rocks and trees tumbled down on mountainside hamlets, said Bergas Catursasi, who heads the local Disaster Management Agency.
He said rescue workers by Tuesday had recovered at least 17 bodies in the worst-hit village of Petungkriyono, and were searching for eight villagers who were reported missing. Eleven injured people managed to escape and were rushed to nearby hospitals, Catursari said.
Television reports showed police, soldiers and rescue workers using excavators, farm equipment and their bare hands to search through the rubble in devastated villages. Others carried victims on bamboo stretchers or in body bags to ambulances or trucks.
“Bad weather, mudslides and rugged terrain hampered the rescue operation,” Catursari said, adding that people who were fishing in the river or taking shelter from the rain were swept away by the floods.
Heavy seasonal rain from about October to March frequently causes flooding and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile floodplains.