JUMANAK, Indonesia — Search teams lost hope of finding any more survivors under the rubble left by a massive earthquake, as torrential rains on Sunday held up aid delivery in the remote hills of western Indonesia where several villages were wiped out.
Rescue teams instead focused on retrieving the rotting bodies from the rubble four days after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit the western coast of Sumatra island, setting up tents for the tens of thousands of homeless and providing them with food and drinking water.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla said there was little hope of finding anyone alive.
“We can be sure that they are dead. So now we are waiting for burials,” he told reporters.
There is no clear word on the death toll. The United Nations put the figure at 1,100. The government earlier said 715 were dead and 3,000 were missing. But it revised the figure Sunday to 603 confirmed killed and 960 missing, presumably dead.
“With each passing day, the magnitude of the devastation grows,” said Mark Fritzler, Save the Children aid group’s Indonesia head.
“In addition to the threat of aftershocks, heavy rainfall has challenged our efforts, roads are cut off and we have no power in many areas. But relief workers are reaching families in the hardest-hit areas,” he said.
The missing include 644 people who were buried alive in four villages in the hills of Padang Pariaman district that were swept away by landslides caused by the quake.
Among the victims were 200 to 300 guests at a wedding party in Jumanak village.
The restaurant where the party was being held was damaged but largely intact. A slice of the green wedding cake lay untouched on a plate, covered with flies. The guests were apparently killed when they ran outside as the ground began to tremble but were swept away by the landslide 40 yards away.
Iseh, a 15-year-old boy, said his sister Ichi was the bride.
“When the landslide came, the party had just finished. I heard a big boom of the avalanche. I ran outside and saw the trees fall down,” said Iseh, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.
“I tried to get in front of the house with my brothers. We were so afraid. Landslides started coming from all directions. I just ran, and then I waited,” he said.
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Samoans gather to remember tsunami victims
LALOMANU, Samoa — Villagers from a Samoan disaster zone gathered at church Sunday for belated funeral ceremonies — mourning victims of the South Pacific tsunami that obliterated entire communities and killed at least 176 people on both Samoa and American Samoa.
The Congregational Christian Church of Lalomanu was packed with residents, relatives from Australia and New Zealand and rescue workers for a service that lasted more than three hours.
The church was unscathed by the giant wave that struck Tuesday, sparked by a powerful offshore earthquake, because it is built on higher ground than the many beachside homes that were destroyed.
Representatives of 10 families spoke of the 52 lost relatives who less than a week ago had been part of the congregation.
Failuga Gase, a 52-year-old villager whose home was destroyed, wept silently for four family members.
“It’s a special occasion to memorialize those” who died, the father of three told The Associated Press outside the church. “In our usual way, we have a grave ceremony for those who have died, one by one.”
Samoa is a deeply Christian country where Sunday church services are an integral part of life.
