400 die, 540 hurt in tsunami horror
Final deathtoll could be in the thousands
Hundreds of people have died after an earthquake in Indonesia triggered a tsunami – and there are fears the death toll could rise into the thousands. Bodies littered the streets and beaches of the island of Sulawesi after it was struck by a powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake on Friday night. Buildings were destroyed and many more people were injured or are still missing. Among those who perished was an air traffic controller who stayed at his post to make sure a packed passenger plane took off safely. Anthonius Gunawan Agung, 21, remained in the control tower at Mutiara SIS Al-Jufrie Airport in Palu to guide a jet into the air from a runway split open by the tremors. His colleagues fled for their lives as the tower started to crumble but Agung stayed and helped Batik Air flight 6321 take off with hundreds of people on board. He then jumped from a fourth-floor window and was taken to hospital suffering internal injuries and broken bones. But he died before a helicopter could arrive to take him to a different hospital for specialist treatment. Tributes to his bravery were paid as Indonesia’s vice president warned that the number of people killed in the disaster could rise into the thousands. The earthquake triggered a tsunami which sent a massive wave crashing across the island and killed nearly 400 people in the city of Palu. Another 540 were injured. Witnesses reported seeing bodies strewn across the beach in Palu, where a festival had been going on when the wave hit. The tsunami reached heights of up to six metres and was travelling at up to 250mph. Indonesia’s disaster agency spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said: “The tsunami didn’t come by itself. It dragged cars, logs, houses. It hit everything on land.” “When the tsunami threat arose yesterday, people were still doing their activities on the beach and did not immediately run – and they became victims.” There were reports of people having survived by scrambling into trees. Homes were destroyed and cars were swept away by the water. A landslide across the main route into the city hampered the search and rescue operations. Officials advised survivors to remain in the open as the region was still being affected by aftershocks which could cause further damage to buildings. Rescuers also struggled to reach cities closer to the epicentre of the quake as roads and infrastructure were badly damaged and power lines werecut. By last night they had still been unable to reach the fishing town of Donggala, and there were reports that the town of Mamuju had been badly affected. The emergency response was bolstered by around 700 soldiers and police officers. Cargo planes carrying emergency supplies were also dispatched by the Indonesian military as at least 16,000 people had been forced to flee their homes. Joko Widodo, the president of Indonesia, is due to visit some of the 24 evacuation centres today.
The tsunami dragged cars, logs, houses. It hit everything on land