Death toll rises to 384 after tsunami, quake in Indonesia

JAKARTA: The death toll from the earthquake and tsunami on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi jumped to 384 on Saturday, authorities said, with many of those killed swept away by giant waves as they played on the beach.

Strong aftershocks continued to rock the coastal city on Saturday morning after waves up to six meters (18 feet) high swept through the scenic tourist town on Friday, triggered by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake on land.

The national disaster agency put the official death toll so far at 384, all of them in the tsunami-struck city of Palu, but warned the toll was likely to rise.

In the city -- home to around 350,000 people -- partially covered bodies lay on the ground near the shore, the day after tsunami waves 1.5 metres (five feet) came ashore.

There were also concerns over the whereabouts of hundreds of people preparing for a beach festival due to start Friday evening, the disaster agency said.

Hospitals were overwhelmed by the influx of injured, with many people being treated in the open air, while other survivors helped to retrieve the remains of those who died.

One man was seen carrying the muddy corpse of a small child.

The tsunami was triggered by a strong quake that brought down buildings and sent locals fleeing for higher ground as a churning wall of water crashed into Palu, where there were widespread power blackouts.

Hundreds of people were preparing for a beach festival to celebrate Palu’s anniversary. The festival was due to start Friday night.

Some people climbed six meter (18 feet) trees to escape the tsunami and survived, Nugroho said.

Photos confirmed by authorities showed bodies being lined up along the street on Saturday, some in bags and some with their faces covered with clothes.

“When the (tsunami) threat arose yesterday, people were still doing their activities on the beach and did not immediately run and they became victims,” Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency BNPB said in news briefing in Jakarta.

Nugroho described the damage as “extensive” with thousands of houses, hospitals, shopping malls and hotels collapsed, a bridge washed away and the main highway to Palu cut due to a landslide.