Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Indonesia earthquake: French rescue team discover survivor underneath Palu city rubble

Relief workers prepare to launch mission on Friday in bid to save victim trapped under concrete in hotel ruins

Tom Barnes
Thursday 04 October 2018 15:30 BST
Comments
Drone footage shows devastation following Indonesia tsunami

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A French rescue team has detected a person believed to be alive trapped under rubble in an earthquake-hit Indonesian city.

Relief workers said they had located the individual in Palu, six days after the area was badly affected by a powerful 7.5-magnitude tremor and subsequent tsunami.

Philip Besson, a member of the French organisation Pompiers de l'urgence, said the team “detected the presence of a victim” in the wreckage of the city’s Mercure Hotel.

However, he added rescuers had been unable to determine whether or not the person underneath the rubble is conscious.

Mr Besson said the team could not yet reach the victim, who was trapped under thick concrete. The team only had a hand drill and stopped digging as night fell.

Rescuers will return to the scene with heavy equipment early Friday to make a fresh attempt to rescue the person.

Some 1,200 people, mainly from Palu, are confirmed dead after the quake hit the island of Sulawesi last week, while hundreds of others are still unaccounted for.

Thousands of buildings were reduced to rubble by the disaster, leaving authorities fearful the bodies of many more victims could lay beneath the debris.

British aid agencies have been among the international organisations to provide support as much-needed supplies slowly begin to reach the disaster zone.

The eruption of volcano Mount Soputan in North Sulawesi this week has hampered relief efforts by sending an ash cloud spewing nearly 20,000ft into the sky.

International development secretary Penny Mordaunt said that thousands of shelter kits, solar lanterns and water purifiers were sent from the UK to Indonesia on Thursday.

A team of six UK humanitarian experts left London for Sulawesi earlier this week, and are now helping to coordinate the humanitarian response on the ground.

However, aid workers have reported widespread food shortages in Palu, as well as fears difficulties transporting supplies to affected areas could result in more casualties.

Additional reporting by AP

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in