Hope dwindles for finding tsunami victims alive

The death toll from the earthquakes and tsunami that devastated Indonesia a week ago has risen to 1,558 people, as responders start to lose hope of finding more survivors. A 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit the island of Sulawesi last Friday, followed by a 7.5 magnitude quake that triggered a tsunami. Since then, the island has suffered about 422 aftershocks.

On Friday, a five-member French rescue team said it did not find any survivors beneath the rubble of a hotel in Palu, even after sensors detected a possible sign of life earlier on Thursday. Disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said there are likely more than 1,000 people still unaccounted for in the Palu city districts of Petobo and Jono Oge alone.

“It’s still difficult because [the victims] are buried in mud nearly 3 meters deep,” he said. Rescue supplies started to reach some of the affected regions in recent days. Officials said military transport planes from India, Singapore, and Australia, among others, arrived with aid. Save the Children also said it sent more than 1,000 kits to help with shelter, hygiene, temporary education facilities, and child-friendly spaces. The disaster has displaced more than 70,000 people.