Crumpled hotel in Palu becomes focus of rescue effort after Indonesia earthquake and tsunami
The cries from beneath the hotel, which appeared to have toppled over with its walls splintered like pickup sticks, had gone silent by Sunday afternoon
Squads of orange-clad rescuers clambered over the tangled remains of an Indonesian hotel Sunday, hoping to dig out 50 to 60 guests still feared trapped by an earthquake-tsunami disaster.
Authorities believe the 80-room Hotel Roa-Roa in the city of Palu on Sulawesi island was near capacity when the district was ravaged by a 7.5 magnitude quake and a tsunami wave Friday.
“It is assumed there are still 50 to 60 people trapped under the rubble,” said disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
A South Korean citizen was among those believed to be stuck inside.
Rescuers are making the hotel a focus of their efforts to save lives.
But they now face a race against time to locate and extract survivors before injuries, exhaustion or dehydration take hold.