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Landslides Kill 12 on Indonesia's Sulawesi Island, 18 Missing

FILE - A man uses a motorcycle to transport palm fruit at a plantation in Polewali Mandar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil, File)
FILE - A man uses a motorcycle to transport palm fruit at a plantation in Polewali Mandar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil, File)
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Landslides Kill 12 on Indonesia's Sulawesi Island, 18 Missing

FILE - A man uses a motorcycle to transport palm fruit at a plantation in Polewali Mandar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil, File)
FILE - A man uses a motorcycle to transport palm fruit at a plantation in Polewali Mandar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil, File)

At least 12 people died and 18 are missing after a torrential rain caused a landslide in an illegal gold mine over the weekend in Indonesia's Sulawesi island, officials said on Monday.
The landslide on Sunday morning in Suwawa district, Gorontalo province, killed miners and residents living near the illegal mine, said Heriyanto, head of the local rescue agency (Basarnas).
Five survivors had been evacuated, he said, adding that a rescue team was searching for 18 missing people on Monday.
"We have deployed 164 personnel, consisting of the national rescue team, police and military personnel, to search for the missing people," Heriyanto said.
However, rescuers must walk about 20 kms to reach the landslide site and were being hampered by thick mud over the road and continuing rain in the area, Heriyanto said.
"We will try to use an excavator once it's possible," Reuters quoted him as saying.
Photos of the affected village shared by the agency showed some houses were flattened by the landslide.
Indonesia's disaster agency (BNPB) said the landslide has damaged several houses and one bridge.
BNPB also warned residents that rain is still expected in some areas in Gorontalo province on Monday and Tuesday and urged people to be alert in case there's a further disaster.
A landslide in South Sulawesi killed at least 18 people in South Sulawesi in April, caused by high-intensity rains.
Torrential rain which triggered flash floods and mud slides killed more than 50 people in Indonesia's West Sumatra province in May.

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New Zealand Navy Ship Sinks Off Samoa

A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS
A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS
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New Zealand Navy Ship Sinks Off Samoa

A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS
A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS

A Royal New Zealand Navy vessel ran aground and sank off Samoa but all 75 crew and passengers on board were safe, the New Zealand Defense Force said in a statement on Sunday.

Manawanui, the navy's specialist dive and hydrographic vessel, ran aground near the southern coast of Upolu on Saturday night as it was conducting a reef survey, Commodore Shane Arndell, the maritime component commander of the New Zealand Defense Force, said in a statement.
Several vessels responded and assisted in rescuing the crew and passengers who had left the ship in lifeboats, Reuters quoted Arndell as saying.
A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-8A Poseidon was also deployed to assist in the rescue.
The cause of the grounding was unknown and would need further investigation, New Zealand Defense Force said.
Video and photos published on local media showed the Manawanui, which cost the New Zealand government NZ$103 million in 2018, listing heavily and with plumes of thick grey smoke rising after it ran aground.
The vessel later capsized and was below the surface by 9 a.m. local time, New Zealand Defence Force said.
The agency said it was "working with authorities to understand the implications and minimise the environmental impacts.”
Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding told a press conference in Auckland that a plane would leave for Samoa on Sunday to bring the rescued crew and passengers back to New Zealand.
He said some of those rescued had suffered minor injuries, including from walking across a reef.
Defense Minister Judith Collins described the grounding as a "really challenging for everybody on board."
"I know that what has happened is going to take quite a bit of time to process," Collins told the press conference.
"I look forward to pinpointing the cause so that we can learn from it and avoid a repeat," she said, adding that an immediate focus was to salvage "what is left" of the vessel.
Rescue operations were coordinated by Samoan emergency services and Australian Defense personnel with the assistance of the New Zealand rescue center, according to a statement from Samoa Police, Prison and Corrections Service posted on Facebook.
Manawanui is used to conduct a range of specialist diving, salvage and survey tasks around New Zealand and across the South West Pacific.
New Zealand's Navy is already working at reduced capacity with three of its nine ships idle due to personnel shortages.