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Indonesia tsunami: Death toll exceeds 400 amid warning it could rise to the thousands

Officials warn the death toll is likely to rise as some 540 people seek treatment for serious injuries.

Indonesian men survey damage after earthquakes and a tsunami in Palu.
Australia has contacted Indonesia to offer help after the quake and tsunami in Palu. (AAP) Source: AAP

More than 400 people have been confirmed killed, many swept away, as tsunami waves triggered by a massive earthquake crashed into the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

Authorities expect the toll to rise sharply on Sunday as news arrives from remote areas. 

Indonesia's Vice President Jusuf Kalla said there are concerns the death toll could rise into the thousands as there is as yet no word from the city of of Donggala, where 300,000 people reside.

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Indonesian men check the body of earthquake and tsunami victims as they look for their relatives at a police hospital in Palu, central Sulawesi.

Dozens of people were reported to be still trapped in the rubble of a hotel in the city of Palu, which was hit by waves up to six metres high following the 7.5 magnitude earthquake on Friday.

Hundreds had gathered for a festival on the city's beach when the wall of water smashed onshore at dusk, sweeping many to their deaths.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo was scheduled to visit evacuation centres in the city on Sunday.

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Hundreds killed in Indonesia quake-tsunami amid warning death toll set to rise

Head of the national disaster management agency (BNPB) Willem Rampangilei said the death toll from Palu had reached 420 people, according to news website Kompas.

"It's estimated that 10,000 refugees are scattered in 50 points in Palu city," he was quoted by Kompas as saying.

"We are having difficulty deploying heavy equipment to find victims under the rubble of buildings because many of the roads leading to Palu city are damaged."

Earlier authorities had put the death toll at 384.

Amateur footage shown by local TV stations showed waves crashing into houses along Palu's shoreline, scattering shipping containers and flooding into a mosque in the city.

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2 min read

Published

Updated

By SBS-AFP

Presented by Yang J. Joo

Source: AFP, SBS



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