UPDATE: Indonesia tsunami death toll risen to 168 as waves crash into band Seventeen’s performance

Dramatic video shows the tsunami crashing into a performance by pop band Seventeen, hurling band members offstage (Photo: Facebook screengrab)
Dramatic video shows the tsunami crashing into a performance by pop band Seventeen, hurling band members offstage (Photo: Facebook screengrab)

[Editor’s Note: Updated article from 62 dead to 168 dead, to reflect current death toll as at 2pm Jakarta time]

A tsunami following a volcanic eruption in Indonesia has killed at least 168 people, with hundreds more injured, officials said Sunday.

“The total number of people who have died is 168 people, 745 were injured and 30 people are missing,” Indonesia’s national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

The number is expected to rise as more places are checked, added Nugroho.

The tsunami slammed without warning into tourist beaches around Indonesia’s Sunda Strait on Saturday night, sending panicked holidaymakers and residents fleeing.

Hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the wave, which hit the coast of southern Sumatra and the western tip of Java about 9.30 pm following the eruption of a volcano known as the “child” of the legendary Krakatoa, Nugroho said.

Dramatic video posted on social media showed a wall of water suddenly crashing into an open-air concert by pop group “Seventeen” —  hurling band members off the stage and then flooding into the audience.

In a tearful Instagram post, frontman Riefian Fajarsyah said the band’s bassist and road manager had been killed.

Images of the aftermath of the tsunami in coastal areas show a trail of uprooted trees and debris strewn across beaches. A tangled mess of corrugated steel roofing, timber and rubble were dragged inland at Carita beach, a popular day-tripping spot on the west coast of Java.

Muhammad Bintang, who was at Carita beach when the wave hit, described a sudden surge of water that plunged the tourist spot into darkness.

“We arrived at 9pm for our holiday and suddenly the water came — it went dark, the electricity is off,” the 15-year-old told AFP.

“It’s messy outside and we still cannot access the road.”

In Lampung province, on the other side of the strait, Lutfi Al Rasyid said he fled the beach in Kalianda city in fear for his life.

“I could not start my motorbike so I left it and I ran… I just prayed and ran as far as I could,” the 23-year-old told AFP.

Victims suffered from ‘broken bones’

Authorities say the tsunami may have been triggered by an abnormal tidal surge due to a new moon and an underwater landslide following the eruption of Anak Krakatoa, which forms a small island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra.

“The combination caused a sudden tsunami that hit the coast,” Nugroho said but added that Indonesia’s geological agency was working to ascertain exactly how it happened.

Heavy equipment was being transported to badly-hit areas to help search for victims, Nugroho said, adding evacuation posts and public kitchens were being set up for evacuees.

Abu Salim, a member of the Tagana disaster volunteer group, said he helped evacuate victims in Banten province.

“We evacuated the victims who died and were injured, we took them to health clinics … Most of them suffered from broken bones,” he said, adding he feared more were missing.

Although relatively rare, submarine volcanic eruptions can cause tsunamis due to the sudden displacement of water or slope failure, according to the International Tsunami Information Centre.

Anak Krakatoa is a small volcanic island that emerged from the ocean half a century after Krakatoa’s deadly 1883 eruption which killed more than 36,000 people.

According to Indonesia’s geological agency, Anak Krakatoa had been showing signs of heightened activity for days, spewing plumes of ash thousands of meters into the air.

The volcano erupted again just after 9pm on Saturday, the agency said.

An eruption just before 4pm on Saturday lasted around 13 minutes and sent plumes of ash soaring hundreds of meters into the sky.



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