Indonesia flood death toll reaches 190

Jakarta (Indonesia ): Soldiers pulled out bodies from villages razed by floods and landslides in central Indonesia on Thursday.

The floods have brought the death toll to 190 while a further 140 others remain missing. They were swept out to sea according to officials.

At least two roads are still blocked by landslides. Water and mud has reached almost 2-metre high in the hardest hit districts of southern Sulawesi province, said rescue official Abdul Malik.

In the worst hit region of Sinjai, 175 people had been killed, while 15 others perished in neighboring regions, said local government spokesman Annas.

"Search and rescue efforts are still underway to find missing bodies and evacuate people from devastated areas, but rescuers say most of the missing people are likely to have been swept out to sea," said Ode Parmodes, an official at the island's disaster relief coordination office.

Incessant rains triggered the flash floods and landslides since Monday.

The government has promised an investigation into claims that illegal logging may have been a contributory factor.

"What has happened in Sinjai should become a lesson to all of Indonesia: people must be alert if torrential rains pour over areas where forests have been depleted," said Forestry Minister Malam Kaban.

Hundreds of people flocked to hospitals to look for missing relatives, witnesses said.

Rohim, a survivor recounts being swept out to sea after a flood tore through his house early on Tuesday morning.

He had survived for nine hours by hanging onto a piece of driftwood. However, his wife and two sons are still missing.

"I pray for them, and hope rescuers can find them," he said at Sinjai hospital, where he had been looking for their bodies in the morgue adding, "I will stay here until I can find them, dead or alive."

Sulawesi is about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) northeast of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta.

Seasonal downpours cause dozens of landslides and flash floods each year in Indonesia, where millions of people live in mountainous regions and near fertile flood plains close to rivers.

Some environmentalists and government officials blame rampant deforestation, which they contend loosens soils on mountainsides.