50 killed as 7.5-quake leads to tsunami in Indonesia
Jakarta, Sep 29 : At least 50 people have been confirmed dead by officials on Saturday after a strong tsunami triggered by a 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit a coastal Indonesian city on Friday.
Over 350 others were injured, a disaster agency official said on Saturday after three shallow quakes of 6.0, 7.4 and 6.1-magnitude struck off the central province and triggered the tsunami near Talisa beach of Dongala district.
Waves up to 2 metre high swept through Palu on Sulawesi island. Video on social media showed people screaming and fleeing in panic and a mosque amongst the buildings damaged, the BBC reported.
All victims have been rushed to hospitals, spokesman of the national disaster management agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.
The casualties were only counted in Palu, and the victims in Donggala district, including the coastal areas near Talisa beach, were not included in the figure, Nugroho told Xinhua news agency.
"Accordingly, the death toll and injuries as well as the damage will likely climb," he said. Most victims were hit by debris and falling blocks of concretes.
The tsunami triggered by the quake devastated buildings and residential areas in the coastal areas. Specific damage was still unknown as the risk assessment was underway, the meteorology and geophysics agency said.
Soldiers, police, disaster management agency personnel and volunteers were evacuating the quake and tsunami victims. Power outage has cut off communications hampering relief efforts, Nugroho said.
"We have not received comprehensive reports yet because communications are cut. Many bodies were found along the shoreline because of the tsunami, but the numbers are still unknown," Nugroho told the media.
It was not clear whether the deaths came in the quake or the resulting tsunami.
Palu is home to more than 300,000 people. Rescue operations have started but a minister said that communications had been disrupted and that the runway in the city was damaged, although it was hoped that helicopters would still be able to land.
The Jakarta Post reported that Hercules aircraft was deployed to provide disaster relief in Palu.
The earthquake hit around 6 p.m. on Friday. A tsunami warning was issued, but lifted within the hour. Dramatic video of the tsunami hitting Palu showed high waves sweeping away several buildings and then the large tilted mosque in the town, about 80 km from the quake's epicentre.
"The situation is chaotic, people are running on the streets and buildings collapsed. There is a ship washed ashore," said Dwikorita Karnawati, head of Indonesia's meteorology and geophysics agency.
In August, a series of deadly quakes struck the Indonesian island of Lombok, with the biggest, on August 5, killing more than 460.
A 2004 tsunami triggered by an earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra killed 226,000 across the Indian Ocean, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.
Indonesia is prone to earthquakes because it lies on the Ring of Fire -- the line of frequent quakes and volcanic eruptions that circles virtually the entire Pacific rim.
More than half of the world's active volcanoes above sea level are part of the ring.
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B'desh: Lawyer killed in clash between security personnel, followers of Hindu leader
Dhaka, Nov 26: A lawyer was killed on Tuesday during clashes between the security personnel and followers of a Hindu community leader, who was denied bail and sent to jail by a Bangladesh court, according to local media reports.
The victim was identified as Saiful Islam, a 35-year-old assistant public prosecutor and a member of the Chattogram District Bar Association, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.
Citing Dr Nibedita Ghosh, a duty doctor at the emergency department of Chittagong Medical College Hospital, the paper said that six others were injured in the clashes that erupted after Chattogram’s Sixth Metropolitan Magistrate court denied bail to prominent Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, arrested on sedition charges.
Nazim Uddin Chowdhury, president of the Chittagong Lawyers' Association, said that protesters dragged a lawyer from beneath his chamber and hacked him to death.
As Das was being taken away in a police van, he addressed the crowd through a hand mike, urging them to remain calm.
Around 3 pm, the law enforcement agencies resorted to sound grenades, tear gas shells, and baton charges, dispersing the protesters.
Deputy Commissioner of City Police Liaquat Ali confirmed one death but said they were still investigating the cause.
The Daily Star newspaper reported that at least 10 people, including journalists, were injured during the clash.
