Wall of water from burst dam kills 50 in Indonesia

MORE than 50 people drowned or were swept to their deaths today when torrential rain caused a dam to burst, sending a wall of water crashing into a crowded suburb of Indonesia's capital Jakarta.

The torrent flattened hundreds of buildings and left more than a dozen more people missing.

Hundreds more homes in the Cirendeu district were left submerged, and there were fears the death toll would soar.

Witnesses described the scene as "horrifying" .

Rescuers used rafts to reach victims, as bodies were seen floating amid debris. Cars were swept hundreds of yards by the force of the floodwater.

Health ministry crisis chief Rustam Pakaya said the dam, which was built decades ago when the country was under Dutch colonial rule, broke at about 2am. In some places, water levels were roof high.

Seto Mulyadi, whose home was in its path, said water smashed all the windows and doors on the ground floor while he, his wife and four children were sleeping upstairs.

"My house is a dreadful mess," he said. "Thank God my family is safe."

Some people living near the dam said they heard sirens before the disaster, which followed a four-hour downpour.

The 32ft-high dam, which was holding back about 70 million cubic feet of water, was built a century ago.

Authorities said heavy rains caused it first to overflow and then, because the foundation was not made of concrete, to burst.