The bodies, including a female corpse with a missing head, were found in a badly decomposed state under piles of tree logs and mud, said Maharum of the search and rescue office in the town of Bahorok.

Rescuers are still searching for 105 people although chances of finding them alive are slim, Maharum told AFP by telephone.

Rescuers in recent days have given different figures for the number reported missing and caution that the figure could include some people who were out of town when the flood struck Sunday night.

At least 200 people are feared dead after the flood swept through Bahorok late Monday night.

Bahorok, 96 kilometres (60 miles) northwest of Medan, is on the eastern fringes of the park. It is the home of a famed orangutan refuge, which is popular with tourists who also go trekking and white-water rafting in the area.

Among those killed were five foreigners. About 450 homes or other structures were destroyed along with 35 resort cottages, two mosques and eight bridges.

Senior officials, including Vice President Hamzah Haz, have said rampant illegal logging in the neighbouring Gunung Leuser national park helped cause the disaster.

Environment minister Nabiel Makarim has branded illegal loggers as terrorists, saying floods and landslides triggered by deforestation are "just as dangerous as the consequences of a bomb."

Makarim criticised the army and police for their role in the practice, which is rampant across much of the huge archipelago.

TERRA.WIRE