Our houses rose 5m into the air before crashing, say villagers

PALU: For the villagers of Balaroa, the events of Sept 28 will forever be etched in their memories.

That was the day when the earth trembled, rose 5m and landed with a mighty crash, bringing down with it more than a thousand homes and its occupants.

Thick mud then streamed out from the earth before fires broke out, destroying the village which had 1,747 houses.

Hundreds of villagers met their end, either trapped in the debris or burnt alive.

A survivor, Jaufan Saib, 45, said more than 700 villagers perished. Thousands more are still missing, believed to be buried under the sea of debris.

He said the 7.4-magnitude quake struck after the call to prayer just after sunset, with the ground shaking violently.

“Houses were literally lifted from the ground and tossed. It was terrifying.

“I was fortunate that my house was located by a hillside and was subjected only to tremors. I clung on to a pillar and could only watch as the village below crumbled completely.”

He said some neighbours ran towards his house for cover.

“It became pitch black for a while as the tremors cut off the electricity. However, we soon had light as fires began breaking out in the village.

“I couldn’t do anything but watch in horror as screams and cries for help came from everywhere.”

He said they began looking for victims only the next morning.

“We’ve found around 700 bodies. The bodies were retrieved either by family members or rescue teams using excavators.”