11 dead, 35 missing after Indonesia landslide

At least 11 people are dead and 35 more are missing after heavy rain caused a landslide near an illegal gold mine on Indonesia's central island of Sulawesi, an official said on Monday.

Unlicensed mines are common across the mineral-rich Southeast Asian archipelago, where abandoned sites attract locals who hunt for leftover gold ore without proper safety equipment.

The landslide hit a remote village in the Bone Bolango district of Gorontalo province late on Saturday after spells of torrential rain, killing at least 11 and leaving more than two dozen still unaccounted for.

"Ten people died. Those who survived increased significantly from five to 20 people," said local search and rescue agency head Heriyanto.

He added that another person who died had yet to be evacuated from the site of the disaster -- and so was not included in the death toll -- and that 35 people were still missing.

The number of missing had risen because more families had reported their relatives as unaccounted for, Heriyanto said.

Some victims were miners while others were people who operated stalls near the mine.