Sipirok (ANTARA) – A landslide hit the area of ​​the Batang Toru hydropower plant in Marancar, South Tapanuli district, North Sumatra province, and buried 12 people on Thursday evening.

The 12 people were still missing and were reportedly buried by the landslide, Parulian Nasution, secretary of the South Tapanuli district administration, said on Friday.

“Yesterday evening, the whole team held a coordination meeting to conduct the evacuation this morning. The fate of all (the missing victims) is not yet known,” he noted.

Search and rescue operations were carried out by a joint team made up of members of the military, police, the local disaster mitigation office and volunteers.

The landslide was triggered by relentless heavy rains on Thursday, he said.

Based on the information available, the missing included nine members of two families and three employees of the Shyno Hydro power plant project. The employees included two Indonesians and a Chinese national.

The landslide originated from a cliff 50 meters high and 50 meters wide.

Project spokesperson Lolinta confirmed the natural disaster while adding that information was still awaited on the timeline of events of the incident.
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