7 dead, 82 missing in Indonesian landslide

Reuters :

Seven people have died and 82 are missing after a landslide hit in Indonesia’s ?West Java province, ?Indonesia’s ?disaster mitigation agency ?said on Saturday, amid reports of heavy rain in the area.

A local official said the landslide ?struck a village in West ?Bandung region.

“The number ?of ?missing persons is ?high, we will try to optimize our search and rescue efforts ?today,” Abdul Muhari, the agency spokesperson, told Reuters.

Indonesia’s weather agency had previously warned of extreme weather, including heavy rains in West Java province for a week from Friday, local outlet Kompas.com reported.

Environmentalists and experts have pointed to the role forest loss played in the flooding and landslides that washed torrents of mud into villages.