26 killed as flash floods, landslides hit Thailand, Indonesia

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) – Rain-triggered flash floods and landslides killed at least 26 people in Thailand and Indonesia on Sunday, with officials saying scores more are missing and search operations underway.

At least 13 people were killed, including a Russian couple, when rain-triggered landslides struck Thailand's resort island of Phuket on Sunday, prompting authorities to launch a major search operation for several missing people, local media reported.

Besides the Russian couple, nine of the dead were migrant workers from Myanmar, and the other two were Thais.

At least 20 people were injured, and 209 households were damaged in what rescuers described as one of Phuket's worst landslides, the daily Bangkok Post reported.

The search for missing residents is still ongoing, it added.

Since Thursday, heavy rains have caused flash floods and landslides in several areas of the region.

Meanwhile, in Indonesia, 13 people were killed and several others were missing on Sunday due to flash floods and landslides that damaged homes and infrastructure in the country's eastern North Maluku Province.

Abdul Muhari, spokesperson for the National Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency, told reporters that Ternate city was the hardest hit, with several houses and roads damaged due to flooding and landslides.