Snapped communication links hamper rescue bid

This photo taken on Monday shows Indonesians escaping by a rope over a flooded river the wrecked resort town in Bohorok, North Sumatra province, where a wall of water flooded the area late Sunday. Rescuers searching shattered homes in Bohorok had found 85 bodies and about 100 people were still missing and feared dead after a flash flood linked to illegal logging. PHOTO: AFP

Hundred others were missing and feared dead, while downed communication lines and demolished bridges hampered rescue efforts, officials said on Monday.

Around 420 houses, including five tourist cottages, were destroyed or damaged when floodwaters, mud, trees and other debris hit the Bukit Lawang resort in Bahorok subdistrict, Langkat regency.

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The floods, triggered by days of heavy rains and severe deforestation, hit Bahorok, about 100 kilometers from the North Sumatra capital Medan, from 10 p.m. on Sunday till 1 a.m Monday.

Bahorok river, which flows down from nearby mountains, and smaller rivers burst their banks and washed away residential areas and dozens of guesthouses that host tourists in the area famous around the world as an orangutan rehabilitation center.

The foreigners killed were identified by police only as Mathias and Lusi from the United States, Austria's Florian Lub, Singapore's Tan Tek Kai and Eli from Germany. Their bodies were taken to the Adam Malik General Hospital in Medan.

Also among the dead were a group of 20 domestic tourists from West Sumatra.

Officials at the Bukit Lawang disaster handling task force said they had found at least 92 bodies by late Monday evening, while other sources put the death toll at more than 100.