A dam burst its banks near the Indonesian capital Jakarta early Friday, drowning 50 people in a deadly torrent of muddy water that flooded hundreds of homes, health ministry officials said.
A dam burst its banks near the Indonesian capital Jakarta early Friday, drowning 50 people in a deadly torrent of muddy water that flooded hundreds of homes, health ministry officials said.
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Waves of brown water swept into low-lying homes in the early hours of the morning as people slept, giving them little chance to flee what one resident described as akin to a tsunami.
Rescue workers struggled to reach many others trapped by the waters, which in some areas was as high as six metres and scores were thought to be still missing.
"This disaster happened so suddenly," Danang Susanto, an official with the health ministry's crisis centre, said.
"Because people were sleeping they couldn't get away."
He believed the death toll would go up as many houses remained submerged, estimated the number of missing at probably fewer than 100.
"The dam burst happened at 1900 GMT (0030 IST) but before that there was heavy rain and wind, many trees were uprooted," he added.
"Many people are still trapped and the rescue is ongoing. We've sent out 10 rubber boats to evacuate the victims." He estimated up to 500 homes were destroyed or submerged after heavy rains caused the burst in the earthen dam at the edge of Situ Gintung lake, in the Jakarta suburb of Cireundeu.
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