Emergency workers are scrambling to rescue 21 missing people after torrential rain caused landslides in Indonesia's Java island that have claimed two lives.

Several days of heavy rainfall in the region caused the landslides that hit dozens of houses in three villages in Indonesia's Central Java province on Thursday evening, officials said in a statement.

"The unstable ground conditions posed a challenge for the search and rescue team in searching for victims," the statement said.

Nevertheless, the joint team continued their search and rescue efforts on Friday morning, said National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari in the statement.

Rescuers are using heavy equipment, extraction tools and manual tools to reach difficult areas.

Footage released by the National Search

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