Sumatran tsunami kills 113 with scores missing

JAKARTA — A tsunami that pounded several islands in western Indonesia killed at least 113 people and scores more are missing.

A 7.7-magnitude earthquake triggered the 10-foot wave that washed hundreds of homes into the sea late Monday.

Rescuers were having a hard time reaching the Mentawai islands, closest to the epicenter, on Tuesday because of strong winds and rough seas.

But reports of damage and injuries were steadily climbing.

Mujiharto, who heads the Health Ministry's crisis center, said 113 bodies have been recovered so far. The number of missing was between 150 and 500. Separately, local legislator Hendri Dori Satoko told Metro TV the latest toll was 108 dead and 502 missing.

The quake hit 48 miles west of South Pagai, one of the Mentawai islands, late Monday.

Most buildings in the coastal village of Betu Monga were destroyed, said Hardimansyah, an official with the regional branch of the Department of Fisheries.

"Of the 200 people living in that village, only 40 have been found. 160 are still missing, mostly women and children," he told Reuters by phone.

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"We have people reporting to the security post here that they could not hold on to their children, that they were swept away. A lot of people are crying," he said.

Hardimansyah, who has only one name, said 80 percent of the houses in the area were damaged and food supplies were low.

It takes 12 hours to get to the sparsely populated Mentawais, a popular surfing spot 175 miles from the coast of the mainland, reachable only by boat.

A tourist boat carrying between eight and 10 Australians has been out of radio contact since the quake, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement.

The Macaronis surfing resort on North Pagai island was also hit. In an official press release, World Surfaris said Macaronis had "experienced a level of devastation that has rendered the resort inoperable."

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Surf villas 'wiped out'
Reports via Facebook from a surfer at the resort suggested that all villas had been "wiped out" by the tsunami.

A report posted on the Surfaid website by one of the aid organization's staff members described a 10-foot tsunami crashing through the resort and boats knocking together.

A group of Australians said they were hanging out on the back deck of their chartered surfing vessel, anchored in a nearby bay, when the temblor hit.

The wave smashed their boat into another one and, before they knew it, a fire was ripping through their cabin.

Guests and crew from another boat were washed into the jungle and took more than an hour to find their way back to the beach, the staff member, Tom Plummer, said.

"There was a lot of debris floating in the water, including bar stools and other pieces of furniture from Macaronis Resort," he said.

Hendri Dori Satoko, head of the regional government in the affected area, told Metro TV that some of the missing may have taken refuge on higher ground. He said 380 people were missing.

Local police on the Mentawai islands were searching for survivors and setting up emergency posts, said Ronald, a police officer at Sikakap district police station.

"We are predicting that people will need food supplies and shelter. The rain is coming down very hard, the wind is very strong," he said.

Mudjiarto, the head of the disaster response unit at the Health Ministry, told Reuters that two bodies had been found near Sipora island and that several people were still missing.

In South Pagai island, waves penetrated about 600 meters into coastal villages, while in North Pagai island, waves reached to the roof of local houses, he said.

In December 2004, a tsunami caused by an earthquake of more than 9 magnitude off Sumatra killed more than 226,000 people. It was the deadliest tsunami on record.

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