A massive landslide triggered by torrential monsoon rains has devastated a village on Indonesia's main island of Java, leaving at least eight people dead and more than 80 others missing.

The disaster struck the West Bandung region in West Java Province at approximately 2:30 am on Saturday, catching many residents while they slept.

According to Abdul Muhari, a spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), the landslide buried several residential areas following hours of relentless rainfall.

"As of Saturday afternoon, eight fatalities have been confirmed, while search and rescue teams are still desperately looking for 82 missing individuals," he stated.

While dozens of residents were successfully rescued or managed to flee, the high number of missing persons has prompted an "optimized" search operation involving the military, police, and local volunteers.

Rescue efforts are currently being hampered by unstable ground conditions, thick mud, and difficult terrain.

Local authorities in West Bandung have urged residents to remain on high alert, as the region remains under an emergency alert for floods and landslides through April.

This latest tragedy follows a catastrophic period for the archipelago; late last year, intense monsoon rains caused floods and landslides in Sumatra that claimed 1,200 lives and displaced over 240,000 people.

Environmental experts continue to highlight forest loss as a major factor exacerbating these disasters. In response, the Indonesian government recently moved to strip over two dozen permits from forestry and mining companies in a bid to curb environmental degradation.

Source: AFP