Flash floods blamed on illegal logging killed 13 people and left six missing in Indonesia's Aceh province, officials and a resident said Friday. Thousands of people had to be evacuated as water surged through villages following hours of heavy rain on Thursday.
"We found eight dead bodies and are still searching for six people reportedly missing," local official Muhammad Jafar told AFP in Tangse, a town 180 kilometres (110 miles) south-east of the provincial capital Banda Aceh. "Before the floods came, people were just relaxing in their houses. When they heard a roaring sound, they panicked and started to run to the hills to save their lives," another official, Nazir Adam, said. In another village, Alue Jambee, five people in one family were killed instantly by the flash flood as they tried to flee to higher ground.