Rescuers pulled 10 bodies from mounds of mud Tuesday after flooding and landslides triggered by torrential rains in eastern Indonesia sent thousands fleeing for safety and left four others missing, a disaster official said. The corpses were retrieved from five hamlets devastated by landslides and floods in Ambon, the capital of Maluku province, while more than 870 houses were flooded by an overflowing river, AP quoted Director of Emergency Relief at the Disaster Mitigation Agency Harmensyah as saying. Authorities struggled to get tractors and bulldozers over washed-out roads. Television footage showed hundreds of police, soldiers and residents digging through debris with their hands, shovels and hoes. Harmensyah said two young children were among the dead, while 28 people were rushed to hospitals with injuries. About 4,300 people fled to temporary shelters. Rescuers were still searching for four others reportedly missing and believed to be buried under tons of debris.
