Mudslide Kills 28 at Indonesian Resort

A huge wave of mud swept through a popular hot springs resort in Indonesia on Wednesday, killing at least 28 people, police said. Thirty more were thought to be trapped in the debris and feared dead.

“Witnesses said they heard a thundering sound before the mud, mixed with rocks and wood, poured into the pools. It came so fast,” said Lt. Col. Sobri Effendi, chief of police in Mojokerto, a town near the resort where the disaster struck after heavy rains. The town is near Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, about 400 miles east of Jakarta.

More than 50 people were bathing at the Padusan Air Panas resort in the village of Pacet when the mudslide hit, and some were unable to escape because there was only one exit gate, police said.

Rescuers, joined by more than 100 villagers, searched rivers and streams below the resort.

Some victims were found in a river several miles away, Effendi said.

Mohammed Hernanto, head of the search and rescue operation, said huge boulders, thick mud and broken tree trunks were hampering rescue efforts.

The Muslim fasting month of Ramadan ended last week, and many Indonesians are enjoying an extended holiday.

Indonesia is prone to landslides during the rainy season.