Huge Surge In Death Toll Following Indonesian Earthquake And Tsunami

Disaster has hit the Indonesian island of Sulawesi after a massive earthquake and 500 mph tsunami unfolded in the region.

In recent updates, the official death toll has now doubled to 882, although there are fears thousands of people have been wiped out in the face of the event.

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The tragic news comes after some 150 aftershocks followed the 7.4 magnitude earthquake and tsunami which hit the island on Friday, which led to thousands of homes, hotels, shopping malls, and several mosques to collapse.

The quake triggered the tsunami, which saw waves as high as 20 ft. Now rescue teams are desperately searching the region to reach the cut-off communities that have been affected by the disaster.

So far, hundreds of bodies have been uncovered, while many more are feared to have washed out at sea.

Speaking about the events, one Singaporean man named Mr Ng Kok Choong, who found himself caught in the middle of the tumult, said: "I fell to the ground immediately and I couldn't even sit down to stabilise myself. I was rolling around and I could see a horse cart had also fallen to the ground.

"I saw the hotel shaking like jelly, there was dust all around and the moment that happened, the hotel collapsed."

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He went on to describe how he encountered a mother and her daughter stuck under the debris of a hotel, adding: "They were crying and we ran to them and tried to pull them out. We managed to pull out the little girl, but her mother was stuck.

"My friend carried the girl away and ran in the opposite direction of the tsunami. He ran up a tree with the girl and the girl's father. The mother could not be helped."

Choong wound up at an emergency centre where a number of locals were being seen to. While he and the girl made a narrow escape, sadly the same can't be said for many locals.

According to The Mirror, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the toll could rise into the thousands, as casualties could have been caused along a 200-mile stretch of coast.

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Local authorities are bracing themselves for further bad news as reports come in from surrounding islands, including Donggala - a region of 300,000 people that was close to the epicentre of the quake.

Thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by the natural disaster, and here's hoping rescuers are able to reach the affected areas as soon as is possible.

Topics: indonesia, Earthquake, Tsunami

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Daisy is a UK-based freelance journalist with too many opinions. She loves everything film and music-related and has a track record writing for Little White Lies, BWRC, and Film Daily. Contact her at [email protected]