World
19:36, 07-Oct-2018
Death toll of quakes, tsunami jumps to 1,763 as Indonesia to end search for victims
Updated
19:04, 10-Oct-2018
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The official death toll in the aftermath of the 7.5 magnitude earthquake and tsunami, which struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on September 28, has now climbed to 1,763.
The figure is expected to continue to rise, however, the official search for victims, both surviving and dead, will stop on Thursday, a disaster agency spokesman said.
"Most of the bodies were retrieved from five places including Palu, capital of the province of Central Sulawesi, the districts of Donggala, Sigi, Parigi Mountong and the district of Pasang Kayu in nearby West Sulawesi province," said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency.
"The search for the victim is expected to be completed on Thursday," Sutopo told Xinhua, still asserting that it did not mean that the search mission was to end on that day. "It will not be terminated."
Sutopo elaborated that based on the procedures the operation is carried out for seven days, but it could be extended for three days, and after that, further steps could be taken in discussion with local authorities.
A man stands outside of a house, damaged in last week's earthquake, at the Balaroa neighborhood in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, October 7, 2018./ Reuters Photo
A man stands outside of a house, damaged in last week's earthquake, at the Balaroa neighborhood in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, October 7, 2018./ Reuters Photo
He stressed that if the communities decided to persist the mission, it could be undertaken with a small scale of rescue teams.
The spokesman said as many as 2,632 survivors remained at hospitals for medical treatment.
The quakes and tsunami have forced a total of 62,359 Indonesians to flee their homes and take shelter in makeshift tents and under tarpaulins at 147 evacuation centers, he added.
Source(s): Xinhua News Agency