Body bags placed in mass grave as toll of earthquake hits home

● Hundreds dead and more victims expected after Indonesia tsunami

0 Survivors pass devastated buildings and a fishing boat left high and dry by the tsunami in the city of Palu as the Indonesian rescue and recovery operation continues Brightly coloured body bags were placed side-by-side in a freshly dug mass grave yesterday as a hard-hit Indonesian city started burying its dead from the devastating earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 840 people and left thousands homeless.

The death toll, largely from the city of Palu, is expected to keep rising as areas cut off by the damage are reached.

The magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck at dusk on Friday and generated a tsunami said to have been as high as 6m.

Local army commander Tiopan Aritonang said 545 bodies would be brought to the grave from one hospital alone. The trench dug in Palu was 10m by 100m and can be enlarged if needed.

Willem Rampangilei, chief of Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said: “This must be done as soon as possible for health and religious reasons.”

Indonesia is majority Muslim and religious custom calls for burials soon after death, typically within one day.

Local military spokesman Mohammad Thorir said the area adjacent to a public cemetery could hold 1,000 bodies. All of the victims, coming from local hospitals, have been photographed to help families locate where their relatives were buried. Video footage showed residents walking from body bag to body bag, opening the tops to check if they could identify faces.

Military and commercial aircraft were delivering some aid and supplies. However, there was a need for heavy equipment to reach possible survivors buried in collapsed buildings, including an eight-story hotel in Palu where voices had been heard in the rubble.

People suffering from a lack of food and supplies were also becoming more desperate. Local television said around 3,000 residents had flocked to the Palu airport trying to get out. Footage showed some people screaming in anger because they were not able to board departing military aircraft. The airport has resumed only some commercial flights.

“We have not eaten for three days,” one woman yelled. “We just want to be safe.”

Indonesian president Joko Widodo authorised the acceptance of international help. Disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said generators, heavy equipment and tents were among the items needed. He said the European Union and ten countries had offered assistance, including the United States, Australia and China.

“We will send food today, as much as possible with several aircraft,” Mr Widodo said.

Mr Nugroho said conditions in the Balaroa section of Palu were particularly bad because the earthquake caused the ground to violently heave up and sink down in places, trapping many people under destroyed houses.