Indonesia: Search for quake victims to end Oct 11; 5,000 missing

Petobo A search and rescue team in the badly hit neighbourhood of Petobo in Palu, Sulawesi | AFP

The Indonesian disaster agency announced on Monday that the search for survivors of the September 28 earthquake and tsunami on the island of Sulawesi would end on October 11.

A military spokesperson, M. Thohir, said the death toll in the double disaster has reached 1,944 people and added that the number could rise. Nearly 5,000 people are still missing in the Palu neighbourhoods of Balaroa and Petobo, both of which were severely hit by the earthquake and tsunami. Petobo, a cluster of villages, was subsumed when the earthquake turned soil into quicksand.

In recent days, hopes of finding survivors have faded. According to officials, after October 11, those unaccounted for would be listed as “missing, presumed dead”. The government has announced that it would declare badly hit communities in Palu as mass graves that would remain untouched.

Despite the government's announcement on calling off search operations, survivors insisted they would keep looking for their loved ones.

Meanwhile, relief operations continue in order to assist the 200,000 earthquake survivors as food and water remained in short supply. Helicopters are continuing to do supply drops in remote parts of Palu.

(With agency inputs)