BFF-25 5,000 believed missing in two hard-hit Indonesian quake zones: official

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BFF-25

INDONESIA-EARTHQUAKE-TSUNAMI

5,000 believed missing in two hard-hit Indonesian quake zones: official

JAKARTA, Oct 7, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – As many as 5,000 people are believed
missing from two hard-hit areas in Palu more than a week after the Indonesian
city was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami, an official said Sunday.

Indonesia’s disaster agency said the figure was based on estimates from
local heads in the Petobo and Balaroa areas of the city, where entire
neighbourhoods disappeared in the twin disaster on Sulawesi island that has
seen 1,763 bodies recovered so far.

“Based on reports from the heads of Balaroa and Petobo, there are about
5,000 people who have not been found,” agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho
told reporters Sunday, adding that it was difficult to know the exact figure
given the areas were largely buried under mountains of mud and wreckage.

BSS/AFP/FI/ 1410 hrs