More Than 800 Killed as 10-Foot-High Tsunami Hits Indonesia

Hundreds of people are dead after an earthquake triggered a powerful tsunami that tore through the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Friday, devastating a popular beach festival in Palu and leaving bodies strewn through the wreckage. The death toll nearly doubled on Sunday, with at least 832 confirmed dead. “The death toll is believed to be still increasing since many bodies were still under the wreckage, while many have not been reached,” a spokesman for the country's disaster agency said. Authorities have announced a mass burial to be held Sunday for the victims who have already been found. Rescue efforts have been hindered by damaged roads and downed communication lines. The 10-foot high tsunami overwhelmed local hospitals and uprooted a beach festival in Palu, the city that was the hardest hit. Photos from the scene showed a shopping mall reduced to rubble and several collapsed buildings, with partially covered bodies dotting the area. Hundreds of inmates also reportedly escaped a Palu prison, though authorities have said they are more concerned about rescue efforts than the escapees. “Don’t even think to find the inmates. We don’t even have time yet to report this incident to our superiors,” the prison warden, Adhi Yan Ricoh, told state news agency Antara.