384 Killed In Indonesia Quake, Tsunami
Jakarta, Sep 29 : Over 380 people were confirmed dead on Saturday after earthquakes, including a powerful 7.5 magnitude tremor, and tsunami struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Rescue workers were struggling to reach certain affected areas amid fears that the toll can still rise.
Three hundred-eighty four people died in the city of Palu, where preparations for a beach festival had been underway when the tsunami hit on Friday, following the strong earthquake. National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said that 540 people were injured and 29 were still missing.
Video on social media showed people screaming and fleeing in panic for safety. Thousands of homes collapsed, along with hospitals, hotels and shopping centres. Strong aftershocks continued to rock Palu on Saturday.
Sutopo said houses were swept away and families were reported missing. "We have found corpses from the earthquake as well as bodies swept up by the tsunami."
He said the government was set to declare a state of emergency and stressed that the most important task was to restore power and communications to the region.
There were other vulnerable coastal areas where communications were down. Officials had been unable to make contact with Donggala, a fishing community near Palu that was also reported to have been hit by the tsunami, the BBC reported.
The BNPB spokesperson said telecommunications and air-transport experts arrived at the airport in Palu, the city most affected by the earthquake along with Donggala, and work to repair some of the damaged electrical equipment had started.
The airports in Poso, Tolitoli, Luwuk and Mamuju were open.
Komang Adi Sujendra, the Director of Undata Hospital in Palu, said in a video message posted online said that the area had no electricity, that phone and Internet service had been disrupted and that road access was limited. He sought help from the public.
Authorities estimated the tsunami's waves to be about 10 feet high, but a video reported to have been taken in Palu showed a wave that seemed even higher crashing over the roofs of one-storey buildings. TV footage showed dozens of injured people being treated outside in makeshift medical tents.
Palu and Donggala are home to more than 600,000 people. The country's military had started sending cargo planes of relief aid from the capital.
The earthquake hit just off central Sulawesi at a depth of 10 km on Friday, the US Geological Survey said. A tsunami warning was issued, but lifted within the hour.
A magnitude-6.1 quake earlier on Friday in the same region killed at least one person and led to the collapse of a number of buildings.
The disaster followed on from the earthquakes and aftershocks on Lombok island where 557 people died and nearly 400,000 were displaced between July 29 and August 19.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of great seismic and volcanic activity, where some 7,000 earthquakes, mostly moderate, are recorded each year.
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Bengaluru: Four arrested for housebreaking, threats, extortion; fake PSI among accused
Bengaluru: Vidyaranyapura police have arrested four persons, including a man posing as a Police Sub-Inspector (PSI), for allegedly breaking into a house, threatening the occupants, and extorting money while wearing police uniforms.
The arrested accused have been identified as Mallikarjuna, Pramod, Vinay, and Hrithik.
Police said the accused had hatched a plan to pose as police personnel, conduct fake raids, and extort money from residents by intimidation.
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According to the police, Mallikarjuna had failed the PSI examination twice and later falsely projected himself as a PSI. He allegedly conducted photo shoots in his hometown, Siraguppa, wearing a police uniform, baton, cap, and shoes, claiming to be serving as a PSI in Bengaluru.
On December 7, the four accused allegedly went to the house of Naveen in the Vidyaranyapura limits, threatened him with a stick and an iron rod, and claimed they had information that he was selling ganja. Under the pretext of searching, they allegedly extorted ₹87,000 through bank transfer, ₹53,000 in cash kept in the house, and ₹2,000 from his wallet.
Following Naveen’s complaint, Vidyaranyapura police registered a case and launched an operation, leading to the arrest of all four accused. Police have seized ₹45,000 in cash and the car used to commit the crime.
Further investigation is underway.
