Fatalities climb to 57 with 22 missing in Indonesia's lava floods
A mosque is seen past mud and debris following deadly flash floods and cold lava flow in Tanah Datar, West Sumatra, on May 13.
The death toll from the cold lava floods in West Sumatra province of Indonesia has risen to 57, with 22 people still missing, a senior official of a local disaster agency said on Tuesday evening.
"The rescuers found several bodies today, bringing the total fatalities to 57. So far, the 22 people reported missing would be the target of the search and rescue operation," head of the rehabilitation and reconstruction unit of disaster management and mitigation agency of West Sumatra Province Ilham Wahab told Xinhua.
The official said that the rescuers would focus on the estuaries of the rivers as several bodies were already found in the areas.
On land, the focus would be the spots where the victims were suspected to be buried by the cold lava, he added.
He further said that experts would consider the option of relocating the residents during the reconstruction and rehabilitation projects.
The cold lava floods on Saturday night, which were triggered by rains, destroyed houses, buildings, roads and other infrastructure facilities in the regencies of Tanah Datar, Agam and Pariaman, and Padang Panjang town.
