Dozens feared killed as garbage dump collapses

Nineteen people were killed and 100 others missing and feared dead today after mounds of garbage collapsed in Indonesia.

Nineteen people were killed and 100 others missing and feared dead today after mounds of garbage collapsed in Indonesia.

The 30-foot-tall heap collapsed and crushed dozens of houses at the municipal dump near the West Java town of Bandung after days of torrential rain, said police Captain Suciati Rahni.

At least 19 people were killed and six others injured, she said, adding that the toll was expected to climb with more than 100 residents missing and feared dead. Scavengers who eke out a living by sorting through the refuse and reselling recyclable items also were believed to have been caught in the collapse.

"Forty-six houses were crushed by debris while families slept inside in the early morning," Rahni said in a telephone interview from the site.

She said rescuers were using heavy machinery to remove the garbage.

Bandung is about 110 miles south-east of Jakarta.