CISARUA, Indonesia, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- The persistent crying of a newborn baby became an unlikely lifesaver for a young family in Indonesia's West Java province, alerting them to imminent danger just moments before a landslide buried their village early Saturday morning.
Sahra Suniarti, 19, and her husband Muhammad Arif, also 19, had been awake throughout the night caring for their 30-day-old daughter, Lintang, who was unusually restless at their home in Pasir Kuda village, Cisarua, West Bandung Regency.
At around 2 a.m., as steady rain continued to fall, Arif heard a sharp cracking sound followed by a deep, rolling rumble from the direction of Mount Burangrang, located about 2 km from their house.
"It sounded like an explosion, followed by thunder that wouldn't stop," Sahra told Xinhua.
When Arif stepped outside, he saw water rushing down from higher ground into the narrow residential lanes. The water, initially measuring about 10 centimeters deep, quickly intensified and spread toward nearby homes.
Realizing the danger, Arif shouted warnings to relatives and neighbors, urging them to evacuate immediately, before rushing back inside to help his wife and child escape.
By the time the family stepped out, the water had turned into thick mud and risen to knee level. In heavy rain and near-total darkness, Sahra, Arif and 12 relatives fled together toward higher ground, carefully passing the baby from one pair of arms to another to prevent anyone from slipping.
Minutes later, the hillside collapsed.
Earth, rocks and uprooted trees thundered down onto Pasir Kuda and the nearby Pasir Kuning village, burying homes under meters of debris. Sahra's house disappeared beneath an estimated six meters of soil.
Cisarua is a mountainous area characterized by steep slopes and fragile soil conditions. Over the past two decades, land use in the region has shifted, with forest and shrubland increasingly converted into agricultural plots extending toward higher elevations.
Local authorities said the landslide was triggered by two consecutive nights of heavy rainfall that saturated the steep terrain, leading to slope failure in the early morning hours. Many residents were asleep when the disaster struck.
Sahra and her family survived without injuries. She believes her daughter's restlessness played a decisive role in saving them.
"Usually she sleeps well," Sahra said days later at an evacuation shelter set up at the village hall. "That night, she didn't sleep at all."
Search and rescue operations have continued since the landslide.
On Monday, Indonesian authorities said four additional body packs had been recovered as of 1 p.m. local time, bringing the total number of bodies evacuated to 29. Of these, 17 victims have been identified and returned to their families.
More than 250 personnel from the National Search and Rescue Agency, supported by the military, police and volunteers, have been deployed across five search sectors. Helicopters, drones, sniffer dogs and heavy equipment are being used, though progress remains slow due to unstable terrain and deep mud, which in some areas exceeds five meters.
The local government has declared a 14-day emergency response period, while search operations will be evaluated after seven days.
As rain clouds continued to gather over the hills, Sahra sat quietly at the shelter, holding her now-sleeping daughter.
"I am grateful," she said softly. "My house is gone, but my family is alive." ■
