Yogyakarta: The death toll from a flash flood in Indonesia's Yogyakarta province has increased to eight on Saturday, disaster management officials said.
The victims were swept away by the flood as 249 students were trekking along the Sempor river near Indonesia’s cultural capital, Yogyakarta, on Friday. The rescuers recovered six bodies on Friday afternoon.
"Today's search will take place until 5:30 pm, but it all depends on the weather conditions," Yogyakarta search and rescue agency spokesman Pipit Eriyanto said.
The students were from local school scout clubs. The deceased were all female students between the age groups of 12 and 15.
“River trekking is banned for children and teenagers during the rainy season”, National Disaster Agency spokesman Agus Wibowo said.
The police have launched an investigation for possible negligence in the deadly incident. At least six teachers were interrogated on Saturday.
Indonesia is regularly hit by floods during the rainy season, which started in late November.Three university students were found dead in a cave in West Java in December after they were trapped inside by flood waters.
Torrential rain in January triggered flooding and landslides that killed nearly 70 people in and around the capital Jakarta while thousands more were forced to evacuate to shelters.
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