Indonesian soldiers and residents retrieve the body of a victim from the wreckage of the houses at the West Java town of Bandung Feb. 22. (Xinhua)

At least 136 have been confirmed dead and 47 others missing in a garbage slide in Bandung district in Indonesia's West Java province, an officiall with the provincial social department said Tuesday. (Xinhua)

Indonesian soldiers and civilians pull victims out from under a mountain of garbage and earth following a landslide in Bandung, West Java. (AFP)

Rescue workers retrieve victims from the wreckage of houses after mounds of garbage collapsed onto a neighborhood in the West Java town of Bandung Feb. 22. (Xinhua)

The garbage slide, which occurred at t 03.30 local time Monday morning, hit 471 villagers in 69 houses along the slope of the hill, said Head of West Java Social Department Yeti Kadarwati. (Xinhua)

    BANDUNG, Indonesia, Feb. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- At least 136 people have been confirmed dead and 47 others missing in a garbage slide in Bandung district in Indonesia's West Java province, an officiall with the provincial social department said Tuesday. 

    The garbage slide, which occurred at t 03.30 local time Monday morning, hit 471 villagers in 69 houses along the slope of the hill, said Head of West Java Social Department Yeti Kadarwati.

    Retrieval efforts are still being conducted by rescue teams.

    The garbage covers some 22 hectares of area and is up to 10 meters high. Enditem

Feature: Thousands of tons of garbage burries houses in Indonesia

    BANDUNG, Indonesia, Feb. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Less than two months after hit by an earthquake and tsunami disaster, Indonesia suffered another tragedy on Monday morning, where at least 136 people lost their lives when thousands of tons of garbage buried their houses in West Java province.

    At 02:30 local time on Monday morning, when villagers of Batujajar village of Bandung district were sleeping soundly under a heavy rain, a huge volume of garbage slid down from the top of a garbage hill and buried their houses.

    "I heard sound like thunder when the garbage slid down, hitting houses, and people screamed for help," said Dede Ahmad, a young villager who came to the location to help digging grave for bodies.

    For years, garbage from all over the district has been dumped onto the hill, which finally brought the disaster to the villagers, about 70 of whose houses were buried in the garbage.

    Hundreds of villagers living nearby came to the area of 22.6 hectares which was covered by the garbage up to 10 meters high. Most of them came to watch a rescue team to remove the stinking mound to search for the missing.

    The team, comprising hundreds of soldiers and policemen supported by some heavy machinery equipment, were busy moving the garbage. Several bodies were found during the removal.

    "Four of my relatives were killed here, their houses are buried. I come here waiting for their bodies," said 60-year-old Sulaiman who lives in a village nearby.

    Sumarna, a 59-year-old who lost eight of his relatives, also come to the spot.

    "I was really shocked when I heard the tragedy," said Sumarna in tears.

    Another sad-looking woman, Neneng, kept looking at the location, trying to remember her good time with the villagers.

    "I live nearby and come here every day. We do sport. I am so sad, I know most of those living here," said the 32-year-old.

    In an information center set up immediately after the disaster, many people from other villages and districts asked officials about whether bodies of their relatives have been found.

    An official said that currently they still lack equipment to remove the huge amount of garbage. So far only a small part of the buried areas have been cleared as the rescue work has to be stopped at 18 a.m. with no electricity.

    "We will continue rescue work early tomorrow, as the condition now is impossible for evacuation work," said a member of rescue team. Enditem