Death toll on Indonesia quake island hits 1,407

THE Queen sent her “sincere condolences” to the president of Indonesia yesterday after 1,407 people were confirmed dead on the disaster-hit island of Sulawesi.

Rescuers are still searching for buried bodies in the wake of a 7.5 magnitude earthquake and a tsunami that triggered 20ft waves.

The stricken island was rocked again yesterday when the volcanic Mount Soputan erupted four times and sent a cloud of hot ash and smoke 20,000ft into the sky.

The Queen sent a personal message on behalf of herself and Prince Philip to the country’s leader Joko Widodo, expressing sympathy “to all those affected”.

She also referred to a quake on another Indonesian island which left 20 dead and hundreds injured in July.

In her message she said: “I was extremely sorry to hear about the terrible earthquake and tsunami in Sulawesi, particularly given these events happened so soon after the recent earthquake in Lombok.”

Up to 70,000 were left homeless and in need of aid by the disasters centred on the coastal city of Palu.

Amid growing anger that outlying areas are being neglected, Red Cross workers said a village of 500 people had been “wiped off the map”.

Britain has sent an RAF supply plane and a small team of relief experts to help on the ground.