At least 58 people have been killed after a dam broke and flooded a residential area on the outskirts of the Indonesian capital Jakarta early Friday morning.

Torrential rain raised the level of a reservoir behind the dam that it could no longer hold the water. Last night, as people slept in the villages below, the dam burst– sending a flash flood into a crowded neighborhood.

Water as deep as eight feet washed over Tangerang about 2 a.m. and people waited on rooftops before being taken to a nearby university by rescuers in rubber boats.

Officials said more than 400 houses submerged and rescue workers searched desperately for dozens of missing people.  A 9-year-old girl was found unconscious on one rooftop after the water receded, but she died on the way to the hospital.

According to local media reports, the dam was built in the early 1900s when Indonesia was still under Dutch rule.

[Image via Sky News]