The death toll from Saturday’s landslide in Indonesia has risen to at least 17 as search-and-rescue operations continue for at least 42 people who have been reported missing in West Java, according to officials.

Heavy rainfall began on Saturday, hitting a marine training camp and engulfing houses in Pasirlangu village on the slopes of Mount Burangrang.

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Among the 42 missing people, 19 were members of Indonesia’s elite marine force who were training for a long operation on the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea border, Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff Muhammad Ali told reporters on Monday.

According to National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari, so far, 17 people have been confirmed dead.

The Navy chief also confirmed that four marines were among the dead.

“Heavy rain over two nights triggered the slope failure that buried their training area,” Ali said.

“Heavy machinery has struggled to reach the site, the access road is narrow, and the ground remains unstable,” he noted.

Ade Dian Permana, who heads the local search-and-rescue office, also told reporters that the ground was “still very unstable and mixed with water”, hindering rescue teams’ ability to move far.

Rescuers were digging through mud, rocks and uprooted trees, said Yudhi Bramantyo, the operation director of the National Search and Rescue Agency. He said that in some places in the province, the mud reached up to eight metres (26 feet).

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Aep Saepudin, who has been coming to the village daily for updates about his 11 family members, including his sister, who are missing, told the AFP news agency that it was “impossible that they are still alive”.

“I just want their bodies to be found,” he said, adding, “My heart aches. I feel so sad seeing my older sister like that [buried by the landslide].”

According to the local disaster agency, more than 50 houses have been severely damaged by the landslide, displacing more than 650 people.

Rescuer Rifaldi Ashabi, 25, told AFP that crews are concerned about the risk of subsequent landslides as they use heavy machinery and manually dig to continue searching for residents.

“Sometimes when we’re in the operation, we aren’t focusing on the slopes that still have the potential for landslides,” Ashabi said.

But West Java’s governor, Dedi Mulyadi, blamed the disaster on plantations around Pasirlangu, mostly used to grow vegetables, and pledged to relocate residents in a statement on Saturday.