Deadly Tsunami Hits Indonesia, 222 dead 843 Injured

INDONESIA: Volcano triggered deadly tsunami hits Indonesia. Indonesia’s national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho have reported 222 deaths, 843 injured and 28 people are missing.

The deadly tsunami has left Indonesia devastated. Hundreds of homes and other buildings have heavily damaged.

The number of victims are expected to increase as evacuation is still under process. Complete data of victims haven’t been received nor have reports been received from all the health centers.  

Thousands have evacuated to higher grounds. Estimated number of people missing is hard to determine at the current situation.

The tsunami waves struck at night suddenly, destroying many homes and buildings. According to official reports the cause of tsunami could be the landslide after the eruption of Anak Karakatau volcano.

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Tsunami struck on Saturday 21.30 local time (14:30GMT). Several popular tourist destinations were hit, including the Tanjung Lesung beach resort in the west of Java Island.

Around 250 employees of the state utility company PLN had gathered in Tanjung Lesung for an end-of-year event, At least seven people were killed, and around 89 are missing.

The horrific TV footage showed the seconds before when the tsunami hit a concert at the event and washed away the stage where local rock band Seventeen was performing.

Seventeen’s bassist, Bani, and manager, Oki, are believed to be killed by the tsunami.

Riefian ‘Ifan’ Fajarsyah (Lead singer), Instagram Post.

The band said in a statement.

“The water washed away the stage which was located very close to the sea,” “The water rose and dragged away everyone at the location. We have lost loved ones, including our bassist and manager…and others are missing.”

A crew member, Zack, survived by grabbing on to part of the stage and “in the final seconds [underwater] I almost ran out of breath”,

TV images which have imerged showed the seconds when the tsunami hit the beach and residential areas in Pandeglang on Java island, dragging along and swallowing the victims, debris, and large chunks of wood and metal.