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"Mass Burials", Looting Begins As Death Toll From Indonesia Quake And Tsunami Hits 832

Source: www.zerohedge.com - Sunday, September 30, 2018
The death toll from the 7.5 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that rocked the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Friday has climbed to 832, making it already more lethal than a series of quakes that hammered another Indonesian island in July and August. Rescuers struggled to reach trapped victims as debris from the storm left many remote areas out of reach. To prevent the spread of disease, health officials organized mass burials as desperate survivors resorted to looting, according to the South China Morning Post. "The casualties will keep increasing," said national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, whose agency announced 832 deaths. [...] "Communication is limited, heavy machinery is limited...it’s not enough for the numbers of buildings that collapsed," Nugroho said. "Today we will start the mass burial of victims, to avoid the spread of disease." Indonesian officials said the number of casualties is expected to rise significantly as some remote areas remain inaccessible. Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla said the final death toll in the north of Sulawesi island could be in the "thousands" since many regions have still not been reached. Bodies lay in an open courtyard at the back of a hospital in Palu, the regional capital, rotting under the intense tropical sun, while a triage site operated nearby. Hospitals were overwhelmed by the number of dead. The Indonesian military had been deployed to Palu, and rescue w

Source: Breaking News

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