Jakarta, December 4 (RHC)-- A village in western Indonesia has been hit by a rainfall-triggered landslide, which has buried 18 people. The victims were trapped under earth and rocks, which slid down a hill in Lebong Tandai village on Sumatra Island on Thursday.

Rescuers have so far retrieved the bodies of three victims and a search operation is underway for the remaining 15 bodies. National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said efforts to recover bodies from the site had been hampered as a result of difficulty to have access to the area.

He said another landslide earlier this week had killed two people and injured nine others in the town of Pematang Siantar in North Sumatra Province, which is likewise located on Sumatra Island. 

The country of 250 million, which is composed of a chain of 17,000 islands, is prone to flooding, exacerbated by clogged rivers and sewers during its annual rainy season, which peaks between December and February.

High tides are another source of regular flooding in Indonesia, which has lost around 500 people every year to flooding and landslide over the past decade.