Four Dead, Many Missing After Indonesian Quake
Baku, October 26 (AZERTAC). Indonesian authorities say at least 23 people are dead and more than 160 are missing after huge waves caused by an earthquake crashed into a group of remote islands.
The 7.7-magnitude quake struck late Monday near the Mentawai islands west of Sumatra, but the reports of casualties did not begin trickling in until Tuesday. The death toll is expected to rise.
Officials with Indonesia`s Disaster Management Agency said 23 bodies have been recovered so far and 167 people are reported missing in coastal villages struck by the waves.
The area hardest hit was Pagai island, where officials said waves up to three meters thigh swept inland about 600 meters. Water reached the rooftops in some villages and damaged 80 percent of the homes in Muntei village on Silabu island.
A group of Australian surfers reported their boat was destroyed by a giant wave in a bay on one of the Mentawai islands, and Australian media said another boat with nine surfers on board was missing.
Indonesian authorities issued a tsunami alert after the earthquake, but lifted it when there were no immediate reports of high waves.
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