A mudslide in Indonesia's Central Java province has killed at least 17 people and left more than 90 missing, officials said on Saturday.

The landslide, which struck late Friday, covered 105 houses in Jemblung village in Banjarnegara district after three days of heavy rain, National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Nugroho said.

He added that 11 people of the 15 so far rescued were also injured in the disaster.

Rescuers have been hampered in their efforts by an initial lack of heavy excavation equipment in the remote area, about 450 kilometers (280 miles) from the capital, Jakarta.

Continuing bad weather

Nugroho said the search had also been suspended in the afternoon owing to a heavy downpour. Around 400 soldiers, police and volunteers are taking part in the search operation, some using their bare hands or hoes and shovels to dig in the thick mud.

Banjarnegara, like many other areas of Indonesia, is very prone to landslides during the rainy season, which usually runs from October until April.

At least 90 people in the region were killed in 2006 when a landslide destroyed houses in another village.

tj/es (Reuters, AFP, dpa)