Death toll in Indonesia quake could exceed 1,000
1/4/2005 18:08
The death toll in a powerful earthquake which struck northwestern
Indonesia earlier this week could exceed 1,000, a UN official said
Friday.
Francois Desruisseaux, operational coordinator of the UN's joint
logistics center in Gunung Sitoli, capital of Nias Regency, said the rough
estimate was based on reports from rescue teams.
"Based on the reports of our
search and rescue teams for the town of Gunung Sitoli, the figure is about
1,000. And that does not include other victims on the rest of the island,"
Desruisseaux said.
Therefore the total death toll on the island must be over
1,000, he said.
The official figure released by the government on Friday put
the death toll all over the island at 277, of which 115 was in Gunung
Sitoli.
Most of the houses on Nias Island were wrecked by the earthquake
measuring 8.5 Richter Scale on Monday night and thousands of local residents
were being evacuated to nearby cities.
Xinhua
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