Rescuers recovered more bodies on Tuesday after weekend flash floods and cold lava flow on Indonesia’s Sumatra island killed at least 50 people and left another 27 missing, the country’s disaster agency said.
Hours of heavy rain caused large volcanic rocks to roll down one of Indonesia’s most active volcanos into six districts on Sumatra island Saturday evening while flooding inundated roads, homes and mosques.
Workers cleaned up damaged buildings after the deluge while rescuers deployed a thermal drone to help the search, using excavators and their bare hands to try to find survivors in the rivers and rubble. “For the emergency response, heavy equipment has moved to clean up the disaster areas. And after this, we will go to shelters to ensure affected communities are served well,” National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) chief Suharyanto told reporters Tuesday.
