Indonesian landslide buries 18 villagers

A landslide triggered by torrential rains Thursday engulfed a village in western Indonesia, burying 18 people, an official said.

Three have been found dead and rescuers are searching for the bodies of 15 others after the landslide hit the village of Lebong Tandai on Sumatra island, a hilly area known for gold mining.

Several houses were buried when mounds of earth and rocks surged down a hillside in the early hours, said disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

Efforts to recover the victims' bodies had been hampered by difficult access to the site, he said.

It came after a landslide killed two people and injured nine others on Sumatra earlier this week.

Landslides are common in Indonesia, one of the world's most natural-disaster prone nations, particularly during the months-long rainy season which began in recent weeks.

Representative photo