Massive hunt for survivors after Indonesian floods

RESCUERS combed through debris and mud for victims of flash floods that inundated villages in Indonesia’s east Java as the death toll rose to 57, officials said.

Thousands sought shelter, medical care and food yesterday in the wake of the disaster, which environmentalists have blamed on rampant illegal logging on Java, one of the world’s most densely-populated islands.

Most of the villagers lived on coffee plantations and river banks where many trees had been felled, stripping the area of natural protection from such a disaster.