Sulawesi quake-tsunami: Two Malaysians evacuated, death toll rises to over 800

JAKARTA (Bernama): Two Malaysians were among 61 foreign nationals reported to be in Central Sulawesi when the province was hit by the powerful earthquake and tsunami last Friday (Sept 28).

Indonesian National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) head of data information and public relations, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said both of them, however, had been evacuated safely from the area.

“Sixty-one foreign nationals were in Central Sulawesi when the disaster struck. All of them were reported safe, except one South Korean citizen who is reportedly still trapped under the collapsed Roa Roa Hotel in Palu City,” he said.

Deputy Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia Zamshari Shaharan said one of the Malaysian citizens, known only as Dr Farah, had been taken to Palu airport to return to Malaysia, while the other one had just been evacuated from the disaster area.

“The Malaysian Embassy, however, has yet to get detailed information on their identity due to communications problem,” he told Bernama.

According to the BNPB, as of noon Sunday (Sept 30), the death toll had jumped to 832 and a total of 209 aftershocks of magnitudes between 2.9 and 6.2 were recorded in Central Sulawesi since the 7.4 magnitude quake that rocked the bay City of Palu and Donggala and triggered a tsunami on Friday.

Sutopo said the death toll was expected to rise as efforts to rescue the victims trapped under the rubbles were hampered by damaged and inaccessible roads, communications breakdown and power blackouts.

Mutiara SIS Al Jufri Airport in Palu, had also resumed operation manually today, but focus was given to emergency flights, as well as humanitarian and search and rescue operations. - Bernama