Earthquake: Indonesia buries dead in mass grave

Indonesian volunteers began burying bodies in a vast mass grave on Monday , victims of a quake – tsunami that devastated swathes of Sulawesi , as the UN warned that some 191 , 000 people were in urgent need of humanitarian assistance .Indonesia is no stranger to natural calamities and Jakarta had been keen to show it could deal with a catastrophe that has killed at least 844 people , according to the latest official count , and displaced some 59 , 000 more .

But four days on some remote areas are only now being contacted , medicines are running out and rescuers are struggling with a shortage of heavy equipment as they try to reach desperate victims calling out from the ruins of collapsed buildings .

In response , President Joko Widodo opened the door to the dozens of international aid agencies and NGOs who are lined up to provide life – saving assistance .

Officials fear the toll will rise steeply in the coming days and are preparing for the worst , declaring a 14 – day state of emergency.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned that there were some 46 , 000 children and 14 , 000 elderly Indonesians among those in dire need — many in areas that aren ’ t the focus of government recovery efforts .

At Poboya — in the hills above the devastated seaside city of Palu — volunteers began to fill a vast grave with the dead, with instructions to prepare for 1 , 300 victims to be laid to rest .

Authorities are desperate to stave off any disease outbreak caused by decomposing bodies, some now are riddled with maggots .

Three trucks arrived stacked with corpses wrapped in orange, yellow and black bags , an AFP reporter on the scene saw . One – by – one they were dragged into the grave as excavators poured soil on top .

– Twisted wasteland –

In Balaroa , a Palu suburb once home to a housing complex , the scale of the damage was obvious . A wasteland of flattened trees , shards of concrete , twisted metal roofing , door frames and mangled furniture stretched out into the distance .

Dazed groups of people ambled over the wreckage , unclear where or how to start digging . Among them were three men looking for their younger brother .

Rescuers are racing against the clock and a lack of equipment to save those still trapped in the rubble , with up to 60 people feared to be underneath one Palu hotel alone.

Two survivors have been plucked from the 80 – room Hotel Roa – Roa , Indonesia ’ s search and rescue agency said , and there could still be more alive.

Desperate survivors turned to looting shops for basics like food , water and fuel as police looked on , unwilling or unable to intervene .

“ There has been no aid , we need to eat . We don’ t have any other choice , we must get food , ” one man in Palu told AFP as he filled a basket with goods from a nearby store.

Meanwhile government officials said some 1 , 200 inmates fled at least three prisons in the region.

“ I ’ m sure they escaped because they feared they would be affected by the earthquake . This is for sure a matter of life and death for the prisoners , ” Ministry of Justice official Sri Puguh Utami said .

Many survivors have spent the last days desperately searching for loved ones while dealing with the trauma of the disaster .

One survivor , Adi , was hugging his wife by the beach when the tsunami struck on Friday. He has no idea where she is now , or whether she is alive .

“ When the wave came , I lost her , ” he said . “ I was carried about 50 metres . I couldn ’ t hold anything , ” he said .

Others have centred their search for loved ones around open – air morgues, where the dead lay in the baking sun — waiting to be claimed , waiting to be named .

In other places , the picture was even less clear .

Indonesia ’ s Metro TV broadcast aerial footage from the southern suburb of Petobo , where the devastation appeared extensive .

According to government estimates there could be up to 700 people killed there alone, with many of the 1 , 747 homes destroyed.

“ We don’ t know how many casualties there are at the complex ” said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho , the national disaster agency spokesman .

– Ports , bridges , roads shattered –

Yenni Suryani , of Catholic Relief Services , said devastated infrastructure was hampering rescue efforts .

“ Humanitarian groups are struggling to get people into affected areas , ” she said . The main airport at Palu was damaged , landslides had cut off key roads while “ power is out almost everywhere, ” she added .

The local airport has been cleared to receive humanitarian and commercial flights , but so far the landing slots have been taken up by Indonesia ’ s powerful military , which is staging its own assistance efforts .

Satellite imagery provided by regional relief teams showed severe damage at some of the area ’ s major ports, with large ships tossed on land , quays and bridges trashed and shipping containers thrown around .

A double- arched yellow bridge had collapsed , its ribs twisted as cars bobbed in the water below .

Indonesia , home to 260 million people , is one of the world ’ s most disaster – prone nations .

It lies on the Pacific “ Ring of Fire ” , where tectonic plates collide and many of the world ’ s volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur .

A massive 2004 quake triggered a tsunami that killed 220 , 000 throughout the region , including 168 , 000 in Indonesia .

AFP

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