Death toll tops 400 after Indonesian earthquake and tsunami

Rescuers were desperately searching for victims trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings after a massive earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia left at least 400 dead.

Muhammad Syaugi, the head of Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, said he could hear people calling out from the collapsed eight-story Roa-Roa Hotel in the hard-hit city of Palu on the island of Sulawesi.

“I can still hear the voice of the survivors screaming for help while inspecting the compound,” he said, adding there could be 50 people trapped inside.

The Ministry of Information reported the official death toll at 405, with all the fatalities coming in Palu.

The nearby cities of Donggala and Mamuju were also ravaged, but little information was available due to damaged roads and disrupted telecommunications.

Mr Nugroho said “tens to hundreds” of people were taking part in a beach festival in Palu when the tsunami struck at dusk on Friday. Their fate was unknown.

Hundreds of people were injured and hospitals, damaged by the magnitude 7.5 quake, were overwhelmed.

Some of the injured, including Dwi Haris, who suffered a broken back and shoulder, rested outside Palu’s Army Hospital, where patients were being treated outdoors due to continuing strong aftershocks.

“There was no time to save ourselves. I was squeezed into the ruins of the wall, I think,” said Mr Haris. “I heard my wife cry for help, but then silence. I don’t know what happened to her and my child. I hope they are safe.”

It is the latest natural disaster to hit Indonesia, which is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.

Last month, a powerful earthquake on the island of Lombok killed 505 people.

Palu, which has more than 380,000 people, was strewn with debris from the earthquake and tsunami.

A mosque heavily damaged by the earthquake was half submerged and a shopping centre was reduced to a crumpled hulk. A large bridge with yellow arches had collapsed.

The city is built around a narrow bay that apparently magnified the force of the tsunami waters as they raced into the tight inlet.

The earthquake left mangled buildings with collapsed awnings, and roads were buckled and cracked. The tsunami created even more destruction. It was reported as being 10 feet high in some areas and double that height elsewhere.

“We hope there will be international satellites crossing over Indonesia that can capture images and provide them to us so we can use the images to prepare humanitarian aid,” Mr Nugroho said.

The disaster agency has said that essential aircraft can land at Palu’s airport, but AirNav, which oversees aircraft navigation, said the runway was cracked and the control tower damaged.

AirNav said one of its air traffic controllers, aged 21, died in the earthquake after staying in the tower to ensure a flight he had just cleared for departure got airborne safely.