Dam Bursts Near Indonesian Capital, Killing 58
CIRENDEU, Indonesia — At least 58 people are dead and scores are missing in Indonesia after torrential rain caused a dam to burst its banks early Friday.
The dam failure sent a wall of muddy water crashing into a suburb of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
Rescuers used rubber rafts to pluck bodies from streets that were transformed into rivers littered with motorcycles, chairs and other debris.
Officials predicted the death toll would rise.
The earthen dam was built in the early 1900s when Indonesia was still under Dutch rule. It collapsed when most people were sleeping.
Water levels were so high in some places that people waited on rooftops for rescuers. Telephone lines were toppled and cars swept away, some ending up hundreds of yards from where they’d been parked.
