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Indonesia quake toll jumps as survivors grow more desperate

Published:Tuesday | October 2, 2018 | 12:00 AM
AP
Indonesian red cross team carry the body of a tsunami victim following a massive earthquake and tsunami at Talise beach in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia on Monday. Bright-colored body bags were placed side-by-side in a freshly dug mass grave Monday, as a hard-hit Indonesian city began burying its dead from the devastating earthquake and tsunami. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

PALU (AP):

The death toll from an earthquake and tsunami that decimated parts of the central Indonesian island of Sulawesi jumped to more than 1,200 on Tuesday as disaster officials began reaching coastal areas that were cut off by blocked roads and downed communications lines.

Officials said hundreds of other people were severely injured, and that scores of bodies could still be buried under quicksand-like mud caused by Friday's magnitude 7.5 earthquake.

More than 25 countries have offered assistance after Indonesian President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo appealed for international help. Little of that, however, has arrived in the quake zone, and increasingly desperate residents grabbed food and fuel from damaged stores and begged for help.

Rescuers have focused much of their attention so far on the biggest affected city, Palu, which has 380,000 people and is easier to reach than other hard-hit areas.

"We feel like we are stepchildren here because all the help is going to Palu," said Mohamad Taufik, 38, from the town of Donggala, who said five of his relatives are still missing. "There are many young children here who are hungry and sick, but there is no milk or medicine."

Along the coast, the tsunami, which reportedly reached as high as six metres (nearly 20 feet) in some places, shattered buildings, uprooted concrete and thrust houses and boats tens of metres inland.

The death toll for all affected areas reached 1,234, national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in Jakarta, the capital. He said more people remain trapped in Sigi and Balaroa, meaning the toll is likely to rise.

Nugroho said more aid was being distributed, but "we still need more time to take care of all the problems".

He said 153 bodies were buried Monday in a mass grave and that the operation continued on Tuesday.

A special aircraft carrying 12,000 litres (3,170 gallons) of fuel had arrived and trucks with food were on the way with police escorts to guard against looters. Nugroho said many gas stations were inoperable either because of quake damage or from people stealing fuel.