Indonesia Earthquake: Grief and frustration felt among survivors in Palu

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More than a week after that devastating quake - hundreds remain buried under collapsed buildings. And help has been slow to reach survivors. CGTN's Barnaby Lo has more on the growing frustration in the hard-hit city of Palu.

Meyren Hamaele was only 20, but all signs, her family says, were that she was going to have a promising future. She was working at the Mercure Hotel in Palu, and had just been promoted. But all that's gone now, swept away by the earthquake and tsunami that hit Indonesia's Central Sulawesi province last week.

BARNABY LO PALU, INDONESIA "So that building behind me is the Mercure Hotel. Search and rescue workers here say that six of the hotel staff were trapped inside the building during the earthquake and tsunami. They've been able to find three, but all of them were found dead, including Meyren. They say that an undetermined number of guests remain trapped inside the building."

Despite ongoing aftershocks, Meyren's father, Martinus, went in the hotel to personally search for his daughter in the immediate aftermath. He knew that if Meyren were still alive, it would be a race against time.

MARTINUS HAMAELE MEYREN'S FATHER "I felt strongly that my daughter was still alive the first three days after the earthquake and tsunami. But the search and rescue were going slow; I think that's why she didn't make it."

But Martinus was able to find survivors.

MARTINUS HAMAELE MEYREN'S FATHER "Me and my son helped four people crawl out of a tiny space under the rubble."

He says that makes it worth the risk and effort. It's hard to find a survivor in Palu who hasn't lost a loved one. But the government says it's time to turn its attention to the living who need urgent help, despite so many still missing. So far though, evacuees say there's only been some aid.

USTIANA QUAKE SURVIVOR "So far, we've only gotten some rice and five cups of noodles."

All over Palu, there are makeshift evacuation camps like this, where even the tents are set up on their own by survivors. Barnaby Lo, CGTN, Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.