17 people killed, 4 missing in western Indonesia floods

One student was found alive and was being treated at a hospital, said Darwin Surbakti, an official 

from the local Disaster Management Agency. The search for the four people still missing was to be resumed on Tuesday.

“Rescuers have discovered 17 bodies, of which 14 have been recovered while three others are still under the rubble,” Surbakti said.The disaster occurred on Sunday as more than 70 students were visiting the Dua Warna waterfall in Sibolangit in North Sumatra province.

Six bodies were found about 3 kilometers downstream from the waterfall, Surbakti said.In Jakarta, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency, said 300 rescuers including soldiers, police and teams from the National Search and Rescue Agency had been mobilized to search for the victims.

Seasonal rains often cause flooding and landslides in Indonesia, a chain of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or flood-prone plains close to rivers.