ONE DIES AND ANOTHER MISSING IN BANDUNG DISASTER

Bandung, W Java, Feb 16 (ANTARA) - A resident of the West Java city of Bandung was killed and another went missing on Monday after their houses collapsed during torrential rains.

Asep Jaja, 11-year-old Citeureup villager in Dayeuhkolot suburb, Bandung city, was killed by the debris of his ruined house on Monday at 3.30 pm., a resident said.

The house, located on the Cikapundung river bank, collapsed by the strong current. The debris hit him, witnesses said.

In the accident, two other people inside the damaged house, Asep Rohmat and David, got injured. They had been admitted to Hasan Rasidin hospital for medical treatment.

On the same day, a 65-year-old resident of Mengger village in Bandung Kidul sub district, Bandung city, went missing after he slipped into the Cikapundung river.

Sugiri DH Mahari slipped into the river and was carried away by the strong current after the garage where he was cleaning his car suddenly collapsed during a heavy downpour.

The debris of the ruined garage fell into the river along with Sugiri, a local police officer said.

Chief of East Bandung police precinct Adjunct Commissioner Victor Manoppo said Mahari's house was located on a bank of the Cikapundung river.

One of Mahari's children still saw him lying under the rubble of the collapsed garage before it fell into the river.

Iya, 17, was shocked and shouted before falling unconscious, Manoppo said.

A group of local residents mounted a search for Sugiri but found no trace of him , Manoppo said. They were only able pull the victim's damaged Kijang van out of the river.

The collapse happened amid heavy rain in Bandung city and environs, he said.

Over the past few weeks, heavy rains had been showering various parts of West Java province.

The torrential rains, were often followed by strong winds, had not only triggered floods but also landslides.

Last Friday, for instance, the landslides damaged tens of houses and a school building in Pabuaran village, the Sukamakmur area of Bogor district. In the disaster, six students were wounded.

The landslides hit the village after torrential rain showered the area on Friday. One of the wounded PGRI Junior High School students was in a critical condition, a surviving student said.
The injured students were identified as Ulung Maulana, Anida, Mamat, Rahmat, Iis, and Dede Susilawati.

Besides crushing a school, the disaster also destroyed hundreds of hectares of paddy field near Cipamingkis river, Bogor regency, local residents said.

In anticipating an increase in natural calamities during the current rainy season, the Bogor disaster management agency had deployed 121 of its workers to 12 flood- and landslide-prone areas.

The 12 areas were Cisarua, Megamendung, Ciawi, Cigombong, Cijeruk, Caringin, Sukajaya, Nanggung, Babakanmadang, Citeureup, Gunungputri and Cileungsi.