The landslide, triggered by heavy rain, crashed into a village in Java's West Bandung region early on Saturday morning, covering residential areas in debris and forcing dozens to evacuate their homes.

"The death toll from the landslide in West Bandung has reached 17 people," National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Abdul Muhari said in a statement Monday.

Abdul did not provide updates on the number of people still missing, which stood at around 80 on Sunday.

Rescuers said they were treading carefully, fearing another landslide due to the unstable ground and bad weather.

"What we worry about most is the risk of subsequent (landslides). Sometimes when we're in the operation, we aren't focusing on the slopes that still have the potential for landslides," rescuer Rifaldi Ashabi, 25, said.

Thousands of rescuers were involved in Monday's operation, National Search and Rescue Agency operations director Yudhi Bramantyo said.

They are using manual excavation to locate the victims and have deployed heavy equipment.

The disaster comes after the devastating floods and landslides struck parts of Sumatra island late last year, which killed around 1,200 people.

Such disasters are common across the vast archipelago during the rainy season, which typically runs from October to March.

This month, torrential rains battered Indonesia's Siau island, causing a flash flood that killed at least 16 people.