The death toll from a devastating landslide in the West Java province of Indonesia has risen to 64. Authorities confirmed on Saturday that search and rescue operations are continuing for 16 people who remain missing.
The disaster struck Pasir Langu village in the Cisarua sub-district of West Bandung regency on 24th January 2026. Triggered by heavy rains that destabilised the slopes of Mount Burangrang, the landslide buried dozens of homes under mud and debris during the early hours.
Ade Dian Permana, head of the Bandung Search and Rescue Agency, confirmed that four additional bodies were recovered on Saturday morning. He detailed the specific timings of the recoveries: “We evacuated the first body in the body bag at 9:29am. at Worksite B2, Sector B. Then, at 10:23am, the team recovered a body bag from Worksite A1, and at 10:58 and 11:19 am, two more body bags were recovered from Worksite A2.”
By 11:30am on Saturday, the eighth day of the operation, 64 bodies had been collected in total. To manage the site, personnel have been assigned to three primary sectors using manual techniques, K9 units, and heavy machinery.
Permana noted the scale of the mobilisation: “A total of 3,675 joint personnel were deployed in the operation, supported by 17 units of heavy equipment and 22 K9 search dogs spread across all search sectors.”
The National Police DVI team reported that 49 bodies have been identified and handed over to their families, with 13 further examinations currently underway. While 64 have died, 75 people were successfully rescued.
Efforts remain complicated by unstable ground and the ongoing risk of further landslides. Despite these challenges, the Joint Search and Rescue (SAR) team managed to evacuate multiple victims in less than two hours on Saturday morning.
The operation is set to follow the two-week emergency response period declared by the West Bandung District Head. “In accordance with the direction of the Head of Basarnas, the search operation will continue, while adhering to the emergency response period set by the West Bandung District Head, until 6th February 2026,” Permana remarked.
This event follows a period of extreme weather in the region. Late last year, cyclone-induced floods and landslides on Sumatra killed 1,200 people and displaced over one million.
These disasters occur as Basarnas, the primary rescue agency in Indonesia, faces funding cuts from a parliamentary panel.
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