A landslide caused by heavy rains has killed at least 18 people and injured seven others in the eastern Indonesian province of Maluku, a government official said Monday, dpa reported.
Days of downpours triggered the landslide on Buru island, buried 18 people alive and heavily damaged three homes, said Priyadi Kardono, spokesman for the National Disasters Coordinating Agency. He added that the seven injured people were hospitalized.
Kardono said the heavy rains also caused rivers in the area to overflow their banks, flooding dozens of homes and forcing to around 400 people to flee.
Environmental activists have long blamed illegal logging and deforestation for making the soil loose and causing landslides in Indonesia.
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