Tsunami death toll rises
According to the latest news reports, at least 23 people have been killed and around 170 are missing in Indonesia after an earthquake of the coast of Sumatra triggered a localised tsunami. The 7.5-magnitude earthquake, which struck 13 miles under the ocean floor, caused a massive wave that destroyed hundreds of houses, and search and rescue operations to relieve the victims have been hampered by continuing bad weather. Australian officials are busily trying to locate a group of between eight and 10 missing surfers, who were on a charter boat in the affected area. Another group of Australians told the Indonesian Disaster Management Agency that their boat was destroyed by a wall of water. Captain Rick Hallet said his boat had been anchored off Pagai Island in the Menatawis when the waves came: “We felt a bit of shake underneath the boat … then within several minutes we heard an almighty roar. I immediately thought of a tsunami and looked out to sea and that’s when we saw the wall of white water coming at us.” The wave brought another boat crashing into them, which sparked a fire, forcing the sailors to jump into the sea. Some of the men onboard were swept up to 200 metres inland by the wave, he said.
According to the latest news reports, at least 23 people have been killed and around 170 are missing in Indonesia after an earthquake of the coast of Sumatra triggered a localised tsunami. The 7.5-magnitude earthquake, which struck 13 miles under the ocean floor, caused a massive wave that destroyed hundreds of houses, and search and rescue operations to relieve the victims have been hampered by continuing bad weather. Australian officials are busily trying to locate a group of between eight and 10 missing surfers, who were on a charter boat in the affected area. Another group of Australians told the Indonesian Disaster Management Agency that their boat was destroyed by a wall of water. Captain Rick Hallet said his boat had been anchored off Pagai Island in the Menatawis when the waves came: “We felt a bit of shake underneath the boat … then within several minutes we heard an almighty roar. I immediately thought of a tsunami and looked out to sea and that’s when we saw the wall of white water coming at us.” The wave brought another boat crashing into them, which sparked a fire, forcing the sailors to jump into the sea. Some of the men onboard were swept up to 200 metres inland by the wave, he said.