The bodies of dozens of students have been pulled from their landslide-swamped church in Sulawesi, officials said Tuesday, as an international effort to help nearly 200,000 Indonesia quake-tsunami victims ground into gear. The Indonesian military is leading the rescue effort, but following an appeal for international help by the president, NGOs also have teams on the ground in Palu. At a church in central Sulawesi that had been hit by a landslide, the Red Cross made a grim discovery. “A total of 34 bodies were found by the team,” Indonesia Red Cross spokeswoman Aulia Arriani told AFP, adding that 86 students had initially been reported missing from a Bible camp at the Jonooge Church Training Centre. Desperate survivors have turned to looting shops for basics like food, water and fuel as police look on, unwilling or unable to intervene.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer October 02, 2018 01:30 UTC