Fate of beach festival-goers unknown since quake

A man stands amid the damage caused by a tsunami in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018. A powerful earthquake rocked the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Friday, triggering a 3-meter-tall (10-foot-tall) tsunami that an official said swept away houses in at least two cities. (AP Photo)

PALU, Indonesia — Indonesia’s disaster agency says the fate of several hundred people involved in a beach festival is unknown after the area was struck by a tsunami.

The festival was in Palu, the capital of Central Sulawesi province, which was strewn with debris from collapsed buildings and pooled seawater Saturday.

Disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told a news conference that four hospitals in Palu have reported 48 dead and hundreds of injured. He said many victims have not been accounted for.

A tsunami triggered by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake smashed into two cities and several settlements on Sulawesi island at dusk Friday.

Indonesia’s disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho says four hospitals in the earthquake and tsunami stricken city of Palu in Sulawesi have reported 48 deaths.

He told a news conference Saturday that hospitals in the city are also treating several hundred injured and many victims still remain uncounted.

A tsunami triggered by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake on Friday smashed into two cities and several settlements on Sulawesi island at dusk. /jpv

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