Indonesians feared dead after torrential rains trigger landslides

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Indonesia
Image: Rescue workers search for victims as a truck is seen crushed by landslide in Tawangmangu, Central Java, Indonesia. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Rescuers dug for survivors Wednesday after landslides and floods triggered by days of torrential rain killed dozens of people in western Indonesia.

At least 78 people were feared dead - most of them killed in a single landslide in the Karanganyar district that buried a late-night dinner party, a rescue official said. The victims had just cleaned up a mud-covered home.

Hundreds of soldiers, police and volunteers struggled to get heavy-lifting equipment to villages on the main island of Java, but roads blocked by the mud and flooding were hampering the rescue efforts, Prayitno said.

Lacking the equipment, some rescuers tried searching for survivors by digging into the mountains of mud with their bare hands.

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